A Business Tactic
by Carrie2sky
Summary: It all started as a business tactic; there was a marriage, there was a merger. She got in the way, but it turned into something much more than he ever could have anticipated.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **It all started as a business tactic; there was a marriage, there was a merger. She got in the way, but it turned into something much more than he ever could have anticipated.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

Based off of movie, "Sabrina," which I don't own. So don't complain at me, as this will be a lot like the movie, but with Naruto characters okay?

**WARNINGS:** This is a modern AU fic with a femNaruto, set in the US. Naruto is 18, Itachi is 25, and Sasuke is 20. I changed the ages to suit my purposes.

**Pairings:** SasuFemNaruto, ItaFemNaruto, and SasuSaku. Although I don't care for this last pairing it's necessary for the story. Also, Minato plays a minor role, sorry. **IF YOU DON'T LIKE THESE PAIRINGS, THEN DON'T READ AND THEN COMPLAIN! YOU CAN HIT THE BACK BUTTON**! For the rest of you, enjoy a story from me that has been long overdue.

**Chapter One**

Once upon a time, on the north shore of Long Island – not far from New York – stood a large mansion that rose from the ground; visible to all and the property belonged to none other than the famous and wealthy Uchiha family.

Employees were running around on the ground like ants in an anthill; servants inside the mansion, servants outside the mansion; boatmen to tend the boats; six crews of gardeners, two for the solarium, the rest for the grounds; and a tree surgeon on retainer. There were specialists for the indoor tennis courts, specialists for the outdoor tennis courts; specialists for the outdoor swimming pool, specialists for the indoor swimming pool. To say the Uchiha lived on a large estate would be an understatement.

Specialists were everywhere, so why not even specialists as chauffeurs?

In one of the garages there lived a chauffeur by the name of Namikaze Minato, having immigrated from Japan years ago, together with the Rolls Royce and a daughter – Naruto – who was both fluent in English and Japanese.

This beautiful day in March, Naruto was helping her father wash the Rolls Royce that belonged to the prestigious Uchiha family. She was an average looking girl, eighteen years old, wore glasses and usually wore her hair up in pigtails. Wearing a simple dress as she helped her father wipe down the car, she could clearly hear the wonderful music that was coming from the outdoor party the Uchihas were having.

Finding herself becoming quite distracted by it, she started to hum. She felt it calling to her, and unable to resist the pull she soon abandoned the towel she was using and silently walked in the direction of party – leaving her father to stare off at her in slight exasperation.

Not again.

Stopping just outside the party entrance, the blonde woman silently climbed a high tree – which she had done so many times before – to observe the party and especially one person in particular.

Among other things, the Uchihas were well-known for the parties they held. Nowadays there were rather few people to hold parties the way they did.

Sighing as she leaned against the tree trunk, the blonde wished she could be at the party. It never rained on the night of an Uchiha party. The Uchiha's wouldn't have stood for it. She let her blue eyes search the area and soon they found what they were looking for.

Uchiha Mikoto – who inherited the Uchiha Corporation when her husband died on the thirteenth hole on Pebble Beach – was talking to some businessmen with extremely polished shoes. Naruto couldn't help but snort. She had dark, bluish hair, and always managed to look beautiful. Mikoto had a tendency to make the front cover of Fortune Magazine at least once a year.

Then there was Uchiha Itachi – the oldest son – who graduated from Yale at nineteen and took his mother and the company for ride on the fiber optic highway, and turned a 100 million dollar family business into some serious money. He had long black hair, that he always kept neatly tied back in a ponytail. He was handsome; there was no denying that.

"Well, I just don't feel like buying anymore networks this year," Itachi said into his cell phone. "There's never anything good on. I said the offer expired at 10pm," the raven continued, looking at his watch. "It's 10:08." And with that, he hung up. Itachi had a tendency to make the font cover of Time rather often.

Naruto sighed deeply as she caught sight of the one person she had been so adamantly seeking; Uchiha Sasuke – the younger son – who was in and out of many schools and even more relationships.

He was just as handsome as Itachi – more so in Naruto's mind – and he was charming, funny and romantic. He was currently dancing with his flavour of the week, telling the woman those wonderful words that every woman would kill to hear leaving those attractive lips.

"It's so rare to meet such a beautiful woman, with your sense of humor and irony; poetry and hair color." The girl he was dancing with had fiery red hair. As he pulled the woman closer, Naruto felt a pang of jealousy. Sasuke had done an ad for GAP.

"Naruto?" called a voice from down below. It was her father, Minato. "Naruto, come down," he added in a much more stern voice as he saw whom she was staring at.

Suddenly Sasuke laughed, causing Naruto to look away. "Ugh, she made him laugh," she said sadly.

Her father continued. "You haven't finished packing," he reminded the blonde, who looked down at him from her perch.

"Am I witty?" Naruto suddenly asked, as Minato looked from Sasuke to his daughter with a flicker of doubt passing his blue irises.

"I wonder if Paris if far away enough," the older blonde muttered, but loud enough for Naruto to hear him.

"No really, Tou-san. Do you think I'm funny?" the blonde girl wanted to know.

"You're hilarious, you should host a talk show," he replied dryly. Naruto was about to reply when her father went on. "Naruto, the full time observation of Uchiha Sasuke is not a recognized profession. Get down from that tree," Minato said, crossing his arms over his chest.

The teen tore her gaze from her father back to Sasuke, who whispered something into his date's ear. She knew what _that_ meant. "I'll be there in a minute," she told her father quickly, as he glanced once more at the younger Uchiha – who shaking his head and walking away.

Naruto watched intensely, as Sasuke slipped easily through the crowd to grab a bottle of champagne and two glass flutes, putting them in the back pockets of his pants. He covered them with his jacket, looking around to see if anyone was watching him.

Little did he know.

The blonde girl saw her chance coming as Sasuke began to walk towards where she was at, still in the tree watching him. As he got closer, she quickly made her way down the tree, jumping off near the bottom.

The raven turned his head as he heard that someone had touched down just behind him. His shoulders relaxed as he saw who it was. "Oh, it's just you, Naruto," he said.

"Hello, Sasuke-san," Naruto said shyly with a small smile playing on her lips.

Straightening his tie, the raven looked up at the tree that Naruto had just previously occupied. "I thought I heard somebody," he mused, looking back at the blonde and then the tree a couple of times.

A curious expression took its place on his face as he started walking away.

Once he was out of earshot Naruto sighed and mumbled in a sarcastic tone, "No, it was nobody."

She watched him until he was out of sight. Just then the band began to play, and the singer sang, "How can I remember?"

Sasuke showed up at the solarium with the champagne and glasses to meet his date as the music continued to play. Naruto had her face pressed to the glass, watching intently. Toasting each other and taking a drink, the couple began to dance together. They didn't dance for long and soon the red-head woman laid down on the fancy lawn chair, Sasuke making his way on top of her.

Having seen enough, the blonde reluctantly made her way back towards the garage. She ran up the stairs, but slowed down as she got close to her father's room, wanting to slip past without him noticing her.

"Naruto," Minato called from his sitting chair, putting his book down.

_No such luck,_ Naruto thought as she took a few steps back and stood in the doorway of her father's room.

"You've spent more time up in that tree than you have on solid ground," he reprimanded lightly, causing Naruto's head to go down in shame.

He got up from his chair and walked over to his daughter who was leaning in the doorway, unable to reply to his last statement.

"Do you know how lucky we are that Mikoto-san has some friends in Paris, willing to offer you a job?" he asked her. She merely nodded in reply. "Your time in Paris will be so good for you," the older blonde continued, stopping directly in front of his daughter, who still couldn't meet his gaze. "If your mother were alive, she'd be so happy. It's what she always wanted."

Finally, Naruto looked up and directly at her father. "What if he forgets all about me?" she asked forlornly. Her father knew who she meant right away.

"How can Sasuke forget someone like you?" Minato answered, making her duck her head down once more. "I didn't mean that, Naruto," he said more gently. "I just meant—" He sighed and then went on, starting new, "There's so much more to you than this obsession. I hope you know that."

Naruto looked up again at her father, nodding. "Arigatou, Tou-san," she answered quietly. "Good night." She turned and left to go to her own room.

Minato sighed as he closed his door.

The blonde sat down on her bed, in the darkened room. Her thoughts turned towards Sasuke, and how she wasn't going to see him for quite some time.

Wanting to drown her misery, she got up again and made her way into the bustling kitchen of the mansion to grab a bottle of Cooking Sherry.

. . .

Back at the partly, Itachi began to wrap things up. "Where are you going? It's early," one of his friends, asked him as he took notice to the older raven preparing to leave.

"I have to go. I need to check on the Tokyo market before it closes. Goodnight," he said walking away from them.

Mikoto came up to her oldest son, as she saw him leaving. "Itachi, my friend just told me that you fired her son. What made you decide upon this?"

"He's was too incompetent," the raven answered tonelessly as they walked together.

"But she was a bride's maid at my wedding," she protested. "She's one of my best friends."

"This is business, Kaa-san," Itachi replied in the same tone. "Listen, I have to drop something off in Sasuke's room," he told his mother, changing the subject. They stopped and faced each other. "When he surfaces from this week's interest, tell him I put his suspenders back in his closet."

"You're not leaving now are you?" Mikoto pleaded with her eldest. "You'll miss the fireworks."

Itachi regarded his mother impassively. "It's okay, Kaa-san. I had my pony-ride, I got my face painted," he told her with a touch of sarcasm and then reached over and gave her quick peck on the cheek. "Good night," he said as he walked away, leaving a flabbergasted Mikoto behind.

. . .

Having finished packing, Naruto was now staring despondently out the window where Sasuke's darkened room was; her thoughts as dark as the room. Suddenly, she saw a light go on in the said room.

Her head quickly jerked up with surprise and delight. Seeing a shadow of a man she assumed to be Sasuke, she quickly got up and headed over to the main part of the mansion.

. . .

Itachi put away his little brother's suspenders in his closet, when he noticed his brother's clothing on the floor and bed.

Sighing, he mumbled, "Sasuke, Sasuke," as he picked up the items and entered the closet once more.

. . .

Naruto made her way shakily up the large, wooden staircase that lead up to Sasuke's room. When she got to the top, she gulped and felt herself get cold feet. She was acting like such a stalker, but it would be the last time for her to see him. She shook her head. She would only freak him out she assumed, with a sigh of defeat.

Starting to head back down again, she stopped and bit her lower lip. She blinked once. Twice. Thrice. And then she turned around and went back to the door. As she reached it, she noticed it was open, but she knocked all the same.

"Come in," she heard a voice call from within. Itachi was still hanging up Sasuke's clothes in the closet. Naruto came in.

"I came to say 'goodbye'," she announced quietly.

"What?" the raven asked confused, as he started to come out of the closet.

"Don't come out!" the blonde told him quickly, causing Itachi to frown and stop dead in his tracks. "If I look at you, I might not be able to get through this," she continued.

"Okay . . ." the raven answered, uncertainly.

"Please don't say anything," Naruto interrupted. She took a deep breath and went on.

"I'm leaving tomorrow for Paris, and I'll be away a long time," the blonde explained, looking towards the closet. "I don't expect you to think about me while I'm gone. You haven't even thought about me while I was actually here, um . . . yeah."

_This must be Naruto. She thinks I'm Sasuke,_ the raven concluded as he listened to blonde, feeling slightly awkward.

". . . so I just wanted to say," the blonde continued walking around the large bed, running her hands along the posts and then stopping. "I think I know you better than anyone else. No matter what anyone else may say or think; I know the truth—" she went on staring at the closet, "—that you're a wonderful person. Kind and generous…"

Itachi fought the urge to roll his eyes at the blonde's poor description of his brother.

"—and for what's it worth, know that someone very far away is thinking of you. So if there's anything I can ever do . . ." Naruto trailed off.

Itachi choose this moment to make his presence known before anything was said. "Could you bring me one of those little Eiffel Tower paper weights that—" He made a gesture of how small with his hands.

When Naruto looked up and saw who was speaking, she was stunned to not see Sasuke, but Itachi, his older brother.

"Oh Kami!" she muttered and fled from the room as fast as she could, leaving Itachi standing there, with his hand still in the air. He smirked.

Naruto ran as fast as she could, the fireworks shooting off loudly and colorfully overhead.

She had never felt more embarrassed in her whole life!

**AN: How was that? Do you like it? Should I continue? Review please and let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**_  
Written by Carrie2sky  
Beta'd by MrsHellman_

Naruto found herself sitting out the office of _Vogue _magazine, waiting anxiously as she watched three women talking animatedly, probably about her. Finally one of them came out to talk to her.

"Naruto, I understand that you speak no France, yes?" the woman asked.

"Yes, I don't," Naruto answered, feeling embarrassed.

"No?"

"I mean, yes, I don't. Um, can you repeat the question?" Naruto asked, not following along well.

Next, Naruto was taking into the prop room, where another woman, who talked rapidly and with poor English, showed her everything she was supposed to for the job. Naruto could barely understand her!

On her first day, she had messed up badly. She couldn't find the right belt to go on the model's outfit, then she accidentally turned on a fan that caused another model to lose her contact she was putting in. When Naruto went to help her look for it, she stepped on it, breaking it. To say that things were not going well for the blonde was an understatement.

Two weeks went by with little improvement, Naruto found herself talking to her father on phone, telling him how miserable she was.

Minato's chuckle could be heard from the other end of the phone. _"Come on now, Honey. You've only been there for two weeks. I doubt every single person in Paris thinks poorly of you."_

"Only because I haven't met them all," she replied bitterly, staring at the far wall in her apartment.

"_Now, now, you're being much too hard on yourself. Give it a chance. What matters is that you're away from here; getting to experience new things, seeing another view of the world, finding new friends. And not constantly thinking about the certain someone you've been obsessing over for several years."_

As she listened to her father talk, Naruto stared longingly at a picture on far wall. It was Sasuke's GAP ad. She couldn't leave home without it – not that her father knew of course. They talked for another few minutes before hanging up, the blonde feeling a bit more at ease but still depressed.

A few more weeks would pass before Naruto's job would gradually improve.

She would soon begin to make a couple of friends and along with that she'd discover that there were a lot of fun things to do; all the while learning French and enjoying the sites.

As she began to collect various souvenirs, she placed them on the board with Sasuke's picture. At first she was only putting them around his picture, but today – finally – was she was able to pin one right on the raven's picture; not covering his face of course.

xcx

Uchiha Itachi walked out the big house clad in a dark suit with matching sunglasses. It was time for work.

Saying 'good morning' to Minato, who nodded and took his bag, Itachi heard a voice calling him.

"Oi, Aniki." He looked up and saw his younger brother – in a tennis outfit, carrying a racket and ball – running towards him. "Got a minute?" the younger of the two asked as he stopped, hitting the ball lightly with the racket as he talked.

Itachi shook his head, and studied something on his cell phone. "Ototō, does it ever occur to you that you're an officer of the Uchiha Corporation . . ."

"Listen, Aniki. I met someone—"

"Do you recall the address of our building?" the elder Uchiha went on, not really listening to his younger brother. "It's 389 Park Avenue—"

"Hey, I'm not kidding," Sasuke interrupted, irritated by his brother's indifference.

"—your office is on the 48th floor—" Itachi went on, still not really listening.

"Hey, this really somebody," the younger raven insisted, trying to get through to his older brother, who finally looked down at him.

Itachi sighed. "What's the matter?" the older raven asked.

"As I said. I've met someone and I've invited her over for dinner this Friday. I don't want you and Okaa-san . . ." the younger Uchiha trailed off for minute, causing the older raven to raise a brow. "Listen, this girl is smart, she's really smart."

"Like that has never come up before," Itachi sardonically answered as he walked away from his brother.

"Aniki, she's a real woman. She's not a—"

"Transvestite?" Itachi supplied, going back to studying his phone.

"—bimbo," Sasuke finished, disregarding his older brother's comment. "She's a doctor." Minato – who was standing by the front of the car waiting to open the door – was discretely listening to the conversation the two brothers were having. "A pediatrician actually."

"How did you meet her?" Itachi inquired, putting his phone away and turning back to face Sasuke; his question genuine.

"I was at this party and the host's kid got sick with something. I took him to the nearest hospital and she was the resident on duty, and we just . . . we just hit right off," Sasuke explained, smirking at his older brother.

"How did the sick kid make out, Otōto?" Itachi pointedly asked, walking away from his brother again while looking at his watch.

The younger Uchiha gave him a glare. "Look, when you guys meet her, just try to make me look good. As in making me _sound_ good," the younger raven went on, following Itachi until he stopped and faced him again.

Itachi merely shrugged and held a face of indifference.

"She said her folks know you," Sasuke added.

"Is she Japanese?" the older Uchiha asked.

"What does that matter?" asked the younger raven indignantly, as Itachi raised a brow. "But for your information, yes, she is."

"What's her name?" Itachi asked.

"Haruno Sakura," he answered.

Itachi's eyes widened slightly at this. "Haruno as in _Haruno Electronics_?" he questioned, suddenly interested in his brother's love life.

"Haruno . . . I don't know," Sasuke shrugged.

"Well isn't this something?" a voice interrupted. "Which one works for a living?" Mikoto asked wryly, walking towards the car.

"Wow, great hat, Okaa-san," the younger raven told his mother, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Morning, Honey," she said as Minato opened the door for her and she got into the car.

"Bring her around and we'll make you look good, Otōto," Itachi told his brother as he too, started to get into the car.

"So, you guys work Sunday's now?" Sasuke asked the pair.

Itachi looked over at Sasuke with exasperation. "It's Wednesday, Sasuke," with that, he got in the car and closed the door. Really, how could his brother be so oblivious to not even know what day of the week it was? The older raven shook his head. He often wondered how they were related at times.

xcx

As they drove into the city, Itachi busily typing on his laptop , he suddenly turned to his mother. "I got my hands on some rather interesting information," he told her.

Mikoto arched a fine brow. "What's that?"

"Sasuke is taking out Haruno-san's daughter," the raven continued.

"Really?" Mikoto answered seemingly interested.

Itachi nodded and then picked up the car phone and dialed a number. "Deidara, get me Kisame," he ordered as a voice on the other side answered.

It didn't take long until another voice started to talk.

"Kisame, I want you to start buying up chunks of Haruno's stock. Make sure not too much, don't want people to notice," he told his assistant and Mikoto stared at him. Minato narrowed his eyes through the rear view mirror. "Thank you." he hung up.

The two Uchihas were silent for a while before Mikoto decided to break the silence.

"I hope she doesn't look like her father," she stated as they continued their commute.

xcx

Later on that day Sasuke and Sakura were waiting the main hall of the Uchiha household. Sakura was fixing Sasuke's tie when they heard a voice, making them both turn towards it.

"For once your father didn't lie," Mikoto stated as she and Itachi came into the room. "You are lovely," she told the pinkette with a smile as the other woman bowed in greeting.

She blushed as she said, "Arigatō, Uchiha-san," Sakura graciously replied.

"Please, just call me Mikoto," the raven-haired woman told her.

"I'm Itachi," the taller raven told Sakura as she bowed slightly to him as well, Sasuke watching the exchange with a guarded look in his eyes. He moved his hands around the woman's waist in a possessive way, which had Itachi smirking to himself.

"Oh, I've heard a lot about you from my father, Itachi-san," Sakura stated. "And from Sasuke-kun, of course," she shyly added.

"Have you now?" Itachi replied, eyeing his brother who was looking at Sakura. _Sasuke-kun?_ he thought to himself.

"Are you really a doctor?" Mikoto asked, genuinely interested.

"No, he made that up," Sakura answered playfully, a brow arching as she looked over at the man by her side who smirked back at her.

Mikoto and Itachi both cocked their brows at this and then Sakura laughed, making them realize she was joking with them.

Sasuke chuckled a little as well. "She's just been promoted to assistant head of Pediatrics and I told her the hospital can count on us regarding a larger sum of money," the younger raven told his family.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto admonished and Itachi looked at his mother and then back at the happy couple. To smooth over the awkward moment, Itachi leaned over and put his arm around his younger brother saying, "Is he a world-class philanthropist, or what?"

xcx

Back in Paris, Naruto had taken up the hobby of photography. At first, she wasn't very good, but one of her friends she had made, helped her to improve her work, until her pictures were coming out very good indeed. So, she would venture out each day, and find things to take pictures of. She also took to going to the river with a journal and writing things down. Her friend had told her that 'she found herself in Paris.' Naruto was beginning to understand now what she meant, as she was feeling the same way. Her modeling assistant job was going well also. She had gotten the hang of it and knew now what was expected of her. Her French was also improving.

As she looked at her wall where Sasuke's picture was, she marveled at how many souvenirs she had acquired. Only Sasuke's eyes showed now. She sighed. She still missed him and wondered what he was doing.

xcx

Sasuke found himself standing in the hospital one evening, waiting for Sakura to finish up her shift.

He turned away from watching her talking to some parents, and walked over to where he could see himself in a nearby mirror. He eyed his suit with disdain, and suddenly reached up to undo his tie. Just then, Sakura came up.

"I'm sorry about your party," she told him.

"It's okay," Sasuke reassured her.

She didn't look convinced, but let it go. "Are you hungry? I'm starving," she said with a smile on her lips.

"Tell you what I'll do," the raven told her. "I'll draw you a hot bath and while you relax I'll whip us up a superb omelet. Do you have eggs, cheese, green pepper and tomato?"

"Oh, no green pepper, no tomato," she told the raven apologetically.

"Well, then I'll just whip us up a somewhat superb omelet," he told her teasingly.

"Sasuke-kun, you are the best," Sakura told him, looking at him with admiration.

"You mean, making a hot bath and an omelet are roughly on par with saving a five-year-old kid's life?" he asked her with a cocked brow as he offered her his arm so that they could leave.

"It'll save my life," the pinkette told him.

"Kami, you're easy on me," the raven confessed.

"Then, why don't you marry me?" Sakura got right to the point and looked up at him with big doll eyes. The two of them came to a stop.

Sasuke was a little taken aback by this, and thought for a minute before answering her with carefully chosen words. "Okay, why don't I?"

Sakura turned away from him, disappointment on her face. "Don't kid about stuff like that," she told him.

"Okay, why don't I?" the raven repeated, emphasizing each word more strongly, making the pinkette face him again.

"You sure you know what it is?" Sakura asked, with a raised brow, unconvinced.

"Of course I do!" the Uchiha answered vehemently.

"Then, I accept," the pink-haired doctor told him.

"Really?" Sasuke asked, feeling a little overwhelmed by all of this. He wasn't even sure if he'd been serious or not when playing her game.

Damn.

xcx

In downtown Manhattan, Sasuke parked his Ferrari just outside the Uchiha Corporation, making his way determinedly to the 48th floor. He had to see his brother.

As he walked by the main desk, the girl sitting there recognized him. Her face brightened as she decided to greet him. "Uchiha-san? This is quite the surprise."

Sasuke recognized Kisame standing next to her. The tall male bowed his head in greeting. "Sasuke-san. Nice to see you," he gave him a toothy grin, but it disappeared rather quickly when he saw the younger Uchiha make his way towards Itachi's office. "Listen, Sasuke-san, he's in a meeting right now and—"

The younger raven paid him no heed as he rammed the door of his brother's office wide open. "Excuse me," he said to the clients that Itachi was currently meeting with. Looking at his brother in the eye he continued. "I need to talk to you," he said in a low, ominous voice.

"I'm in a meeting," Itachi told him, spreading his hands out, as if to say, 'isn't is obvious?'

"When was the last time I came here?" the younger raven retorted hotly.

"You're right," the older raven replied. Looking at his clients apologetically, he motioned for them to leave, which they did rather quickly – seeming to be able to sense the tension between the two brothers.

Sasuke slammed the door after them, causing the older raven to raise a dark brow. He noticed that his younger brother was holding a newspaper in one hand and narrowed his eyes.

"I wondered why I was suddenly being treated with so much respect," Sasuke began; anger and sarcasm clear in his voice.

Itachi remained cool and calm. "Is something bothering you, Otōto?" he civilly asked.

Walking over to his brother's desk, Sasuke threw down the newspaper on it loudly. "You've been pushing me into this relationship with Sakura so you could engineer a merger with Haruno Electronics," the younger Uchiha continued in the same tone, while pointing to an article with the title 'Haurno Stock Soars on Speculation of Uchiha Merger.'

"Pushing you? I could burn in hell for what I said about you," Itachi replied, no emotion in his voice or face. "You asked me to make you look good in front of Sakura, did you not?"

Sasuke was still furious. "You never said a word about making an offer to Haruno—"

Itachi cut him off. "I only did what you asked me to, Sasuke," he plainly stated, but held a firm tone to his voice.

The younger raven sat down a chair, some of his anger expended. "I can't do this, Aniki. I'm not ready to make this kind of commitment." He ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Just a few months ago I was nothing but one of all the other hormone driven young men out there, taking whatever I got my hands on."

"Oh, I see. She must have asked for an actual wedding date," Itachi replied with bemusement.

"I don't know what came over me. She was healing children, I was in a tuxedo." He looked up at his brother. "I'm not in any kind of position to take care of a wife," he went on, his tone starting to sound frantic.

"Sakura is a doctor and a millionaire, Otōto. She won't be a burden," the older raven continued in a flat tone. Sasuke didn't reply. "Truth be told, you don't deserve her, but she appears to love you," the older Uchiha pointed out.

Sasuke pinned his brother with a look. "I've never been a relationship for this long with anyone. It's been one-night stands mostly," the younger raven finally answered, placing his hand on his forehead, trying to fend off a headache.

"Sasuke," Itachi started, but got cut off.

Pointing towards the newspaper once more, Sasuke looked up. "This is all just a coincidence, right?" he asked, looking for reassurance.

"It's an opportunity," the elder Uchiha answered simply.

"Opportunity?" the younger Uchiha repeated, confused.

"What do you expect me to do?" Itachi went on, "Disqualify myself from a billion dollar merger just because I might have family connections?" He reached into his desk and pulled out a pen and started to write something on a piece of paper.

"It was just a question," Sasuke said as he tried to see what his brother was doing.

The older Uchiha got up from his seat and walked over to the panorama window next to his desk. "Quite the view, isn't it?" he said and looked out over the heart of Manhattan.

"Is some new way of changing the subject?" Sasuke asked, extremely confused at this point.

Itachi continued to stare out the window as he answered his brother. "We've got so much competition on this merger that any advantage—"

"Wait a minute, Aniki, you're talking about my life," the younger Uchiha objected.

"I pay for your life, Sasuke, or have you forgotten?" Itachi retorted. "My life makes your life possible."

"I resent that," the younger raven replied spitefully.

"So do I, Otōto," the older Uchiha put in, sounding a bit bitter. It caused the younger raven to quiet down. "Look at yourself," he gestured to his younger brother as he spoke. "You went to Law School, but you never took the bar. You went to Business School, but I can't get you anywhere near the office."

Sasuke scowled and turned away, but Itachi went on. "You study languages you don't speak; instruments you don't play. You have a series of girlfriends you never see more than twice. Do you not see a pattern here?"

The younger Uchiha turned to face his brother. "Who are you to lecture me about closeness? Your idea of a long term relationship is to giving your date a chance to order dessert," he scoffed.

"I don't have time for dessert. I'm too busy with this company," the older Uchiha replied, albeit resentfully, sitting back down his chair. "You're an adult now, Otōto. Finish something," he concluded with firm finality.

Sasuke looked at his brother with grave uncertainty. Itachi went for the clincher. "Haruno Sakura is the best thing that ever happened to you. You told me so yourself," he reminded him.

xcx

That evening, the Uchihas found themselves at Sakura's home. They were meeting the young woman's parents for the first time.

All of a sudden Mr. Haruno decided to make a toast. "To my baby girl, Dr. Haruno Sakura, talented M.D., and to my future son-in-law, Uchiha Sasuke, lucky S.O.B."

Sasuke looked up in surprise as this, while everyone laughed. "Just kidding Sasuke," Sakura's father amended. "No, we're all very lucky. Not only is this the joining of two gorgeous people, but two gorgeous companies," Mr. Haruno went on.

"Here, here," Itachi put in holding up his glass, while Sasuke glared at him. The older raven just smirked at him.

"I want to wish you all the luck and happiness you deserve. And . . . may your first child . . . be of the masculine kind," Mr. Haruno finished, a smile on his face.

Sasuke looked mortified at this, as did Mikoto and Itachi.

"Tell Yoshi to bring the food now, please," Mrs. Haruno told the servant standing by her side, smiling awkwardly.

"Ahora?"

"Sí," she replied.

Itachi leaned over to her. "You're quite a linguist," he commented.

"Yes, well, I traveled a lot before I married. I was a stewardess," she told him with a smile.

"Now they call them flight attendants," he informed her in a low voice.

"Really?" Sakura's mother sounded interested. "Well, I bet I can still get your seat back in the upright position," he told him seductively.

Itachi coughed up a bit of his drink upon hearing that remark, giving the woman a quizzical look.

Sasuke put his finger in the collar of his dress shirt, a nervous habit. Sakura leaned over to her fiancé. "Whenever they try to be funny, it comes out perverse or terrifying. You'll get used to it."

"I see," the raven answered, taking a big gulp of his drink, wondering what the hell he was in for with this family.

* * *

**AN: Well, there's chapter 2. Not much Naruto here, but it's coming! You've got to have some background to understand what goes in this story. Review please! It helps motivate me to keep posting. I know people are reading, but just drop a line and tell me if you like. If you don't understand something, ask! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**  
_Written by Carrie2sky  
Betaed by MrsHellman_

"Well, what did she say about the engagement?" one of the maid's asked, looking at the blond man pointedly. When he didn't respond, she sighed, "You haven't told her?"

"I don't know how," Minato admitted, reluctantly as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know what to say to her. It'll break her heart . . ."

Minato had just finished reading a long a letter he'd received from Naruto. She was doing well and was living a happy life, not knowing about all the things that had happened in her absence.

The maid then launched into a huge explanation of what exactly Minato could tell his daughter about Uchiha Sasuke; none of which Minato took seriously, but listened just to humor her. They had a rather long discussion about it, but after the sun had set for the day, Minato finally decided to write his daughter a letter with an explanation. She had to right to know, he thought.

_My dearest Naruto,_

_Although I have am sure this will come as a shock it is my belief that what I am about to tell you is all for the best. I know how strongly you have always felt about this and so I have been reluctant to write . . ._

**xcx**

Naruto was sitting in an outdoor café as she finished reading her father's letter.

Uchiha Sasuke – the man of her dreams – was engaged to be married. She felt her heart break in two at the news. She would never have a chance with him now, and all her worst nightmares were coming to pass.

It seemed that Sasuke had indeed forgotten about her.

She quickly got up the left the café and went back to her flat she was staying at. No tears were shed, but the picture of Sasuke on the bedside table was lying with its front down. It stayed that way.

In an effort to mask her grief, she began to take long walks in Paris. On one such walk she found a bridge by the river that became her favorite and frequent spot to visit. She continued her photography, and became quite good at it. She also decided that she needed to change a few things before going back to America. She was nearing her last day in Paris…

On her final day there, sitting at another café, Naruto wrote a final letter to her father.

_Tousan,_

_This is my last letter from Paris. _

_I might even be home before you get it. You don't have to worry about picking me up though; I'd like to surprise you!_

_Amazing, isn't it? Time has flown by so quickly! I can't believe I'm coming home! I'm going to miss this place. Across the street someone is playing, "La Vie en Rose", they do it for the tourists, but I'm always surprised at how it moves me. It means seeing life through rose-colored glasses. Only in Paris where the light is pink does that song make sense, but I'll have it my pocket when I get home and I'll take it with me wherever I go from now on. _

_Miss you!_

_Your beloved daughter,  
_

_Naruto._

**xcx**

Uchiha Sasuke was sitting in a lawn chair, watching as the party crew was busying themselves setting up for the next party.

He barely noticed Itachi as he walked out with a glass of wine in his hand, seeing his younger brother. "Otōto," he greeted.

"Aniki. What you doing here?"

"Drove out with Kaa-san. I'm here for her birthday party. Might as well stay over," he told his younger brother.

"Yeah? What did you get her?" Sasuke inquired as he turned around to properly face his older brother.

"Portable fax machine," he told him impassively.

"You sentimental fool," the younger raven teased.

"It's easy for you to get her something, because you don't have to get her anything at all. She's over the moon with you finally setting a date for the wedding. You never have to buy her another present in her life," Itachi told him.

"Hn. That's not what she says," Sasuke dryly replied, getting up from his chair and grabbing his drink. "I got her a little Picasso. Having it wrapped in town," he finished, now standing next to his brother.

"What did that cost me?" the older Uchiha snidely asked.

"Don't know," the younger Uchiha shrugged as the older just shook his head. "So, who's the new bidder on Haruno? Unisat?" he queried.

Itachi looked at his brother astonished. "And a couple of other companies, yes."

"Cash or stock options?" the younger brother asked the older.

Itachi wrapped an arm around Sasuke's shoulders, a smirk playing on his lips. "I love it when you talk dirty, Otōto." Just then a small white dog ran past them, barking loudly.

"What's that?" Itachi asked; a frown on his pale face, as he let go of the other raven.

"A dog," Sasuke sarcastically replied.

"What for? We've never had a dog."

"Sakura's gift to Kaa-san. She feels guilty about missing the party, being stuck at some UCLA seminar," Sasuke replied. "Now, if you excuse me; I've got to go pick up Kaa-san's present," he finished as Itachi shook his head at the dog.

Before leaving, the younger raven turned and looked his brother in the eyes. "I want you to know something, Aniki," he started with soft facial features. "I'm genuinely glad about Sakura."

Itachi snorted. "You should be. She's terrific, smart, independent and pretty as they come." Sasuke smirked at him, though Itachi was sure it was more a smile than anything.

Tilting his head to the side, Sasuke asked, "Then why don't you marry her?" he teased as his brother gave him the Uchiha glare. "Kidding, kidding," the younger Uchiha told him with his hands up as he left; that half-smirk-half-smile still in place.

**xcx**

In town, Naruto had just gotten off the bus and stood on the sidewalk – bags by her feet – as she looked around. She was dressed very sharply; a nice dark blue blazer with matching trousers and hat. Donning sunglasses and no longer wearing glasses but contacts, Naruto's lips were now painted with ruby red lipstick. Her hair was also noticeably shorter, cut in a cute style that made her look older. The look became completed with earrings in her ears to accent her face.

As she looked around, she spotted Sasuke's trademark Ferrari parked nearby. With clenched jaws, she searched for any sign of the raven.

The said raven just came out a shop, holding a wrapped painting in one hand and looking at his watch on the other hand as he ran across the street to his car. That was when he suddenly noticed a beautiful woman, standing close by, looking around.

He couldn't take his eyes off her, and as a result nearly got hit by a car, which honked at him. This was what drew Naruto's attention and she grinned widely when she saw who it was.

"Hello, how are you?" she greeted, as he looked around to make sure she wasn't talking to someone else. He was surprised that she spoke so familiarly to him. Did he know her?

"I'm good," he replied, still uncertain. "How are you?" he asked, trying to get more information.

"Good." She laughed for a minute, nervously playing with her hands. "I'm just surprised to see you here."

"Well, you know me," Sasuke answered with his arms out in a shrugging gesture. "Don't you?" he intoned. Naruto continued to giggle. Noticing her bags, he asked, "Can I give you a ride?"

"Are you on your way home?" the blonde hopefully asked.

"Yes, I am," the raven replied.

"Well, that's convenient," Naruto answered. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind?"

Sasuke smirked at her.

Soon they found themselves cruising down the road. Naruto had taken off her hat, since Sasuke's car was a convertible. She kept her sunglasses in place however, and had a pleasant grin on her face.

"You know, I can't remember the name of your street," the raven began.

"Dusoris Lane," she supplied; a grin still in place.

"That's where I live," the raven uttered in surprise.

"Small world," Naruto answered.

"Big lane," Sasuke muttered in awe.

Naruto finally took off her sunglasses and looked over at the young Uchiha. "You don't recognize me, do you?" she asked with a smile.

"Of course I do," the raven scoffed. "You're my neighbor who lives on Dusoris Lane," he answered with a smirk playing on his lips once more.

"And you're Uchiha Sasuke," she laughed.

"I sure am," Sasuke smiled back at her. "One of the lesser Uchiha's," he added.

"Oh, in what way lesser?" Naruto asked in mock pity.

"Pretty much every way, but please, no pity," he told the blonde, who laughed out loud. "I could have sworn that I knew every pretty girl on the north shore," he continued as they drove on.

"Oh, I could have sworn you took in more territory than that," Naruto retorted, as Sasuke muttered an 'ouch' to that statement. "Although, that was a while ago; I heard somewhere that you're engaged to be married."

"Yes, I am," raven answered quickly, "but we're both busy people, and it's been difficult to set a date." He looked over at her from the corner of his eye. "How about you give me one clue to your identity," he asked the blonde.

"Oh no, this is too much fun!" Naruto teased him, with her joyous laughter.

"Please," Sasuke almost begged. He was an Uchiha, and wouldn't stoop to that level.

"There's your driveway," the blonde pointed out, looking somewhere in front of them.

How she knew where he lived made him arch a brow, but he didn't care at the moment. "Would you like to come in for a drink?" he asked, sounding casual.

Naruto looked at the raven and smiled. "That's a good idea," she told him.

As they pulled into the driveway – passing the gate that was of course open – Sasuke noticed the blonde craning her neck to take in her surroundings. They drove down the long and winding driveway before coming to a stop.

The Uchiha got out of the car first and he walked over to the other side of the car, acting like a gentleman, opening Naruto's door for her.

Naruto smiled at him as she got out and then looked around at all the party supplies, trucks and people. "Looks like you're having a party," she commented, stating the obvious, clutching her hat to her chest. "They used to have lovely parties here," she continued wistfully.

"Oh, then you've been to them?" Sasuke curiously asked, still wanting a clue as to who this attractive blonde was.

"N-no. But I saw the lights from a . . . distance," she answered, not meeting his gaze. "What's the occasion? It's too late for an engagement party," she continued, finally looking at the handsome Uchiha.

"Oh, no, as a matter of fact, my fiancée is in California this week," Sasuke explained, brushing that fact off, as Naruto just nodded. "It's actually a birthday party for my mother." Inhaling before continuing, the raven made sure to keep eye contact as he asked, "The party's tomorrow night at nine. Will you come?"

Naruto looked at the raven in disbelief. Was he really asking her to the party? "Do you really want me to?" she coyly asked. She knew she was in enemy territory by letting Sasuke act so seductive around her, especially concerning the fact that he was a man soon to be married. She brushed it off though, as she felt special to hear Sasuke ask her personally.

"Very much," Sasuke nodded. "If you'll tell me who you are."

That was the moment the older Uchiha decided to enter the scene and end Naruto's fun.

"Hello there, Naruto," came Itachi's voice from behind Sasuke. He had come to get his wallet from the car, having forgotten it. Sasuke blinked as he turned around to look at his brother, while Naruto looked at him with slight annoyance.

"Hello, Itachi-san," she shortly answered.

"Naruto?" the younger raven uncertainly asked as he glanced over at his brother and back to Naruto again.

"Have a good time in Paris?" the eldest Uchiha conversationally asked as he walked over to his car – that was parked a few feet away – and got a leather wallet from the front seat.

"Yes, thank you," the blonde woman answered, looking uncomfortably at Sasuke.

"Naruto?" the younger Uchiha asked again, in disbelief.

"You look all grown up," Itachi noted, as he looked over the blonde. He took in the make-up and noted that it fit her rather well. Blinking as he diverted his stare, he decided to get his mother's present as well, and opened the trunk of his car.

"Naruto?" the younger raven asked one more time.

"Why does he keep saying that?" the older raven asked suspiciously.

"I need to go and find my father. Thank you for the ride Sasuke-san," Naruto answered, nodding her head towards Sasuke. "Itachi-san," she nodded to him as well, and the older raven responded the gesture with a nod of his own.

She turned to the car and got her bags before turning around, about to walk away.

"Wait a minute," Sasuke called out after her.

"See you later," the blonde called out over her shoulder, wanting a quick get away.

Sasuke was just about to walk after her when Itachi stopped him.

"Otōto. No." Two simple words that spoke volumes.

"What are you talking about? I was just—"

"No," Itachi told him more firmly; a stern expression on his face. He knew exactly what his little brother was thinking.

**xcx**

Naruto found her father more quickly than she thought. Minato was stunned to say the least. He couldn't believe how much she had changed; she looked so grown up – reminding him of her mother more than she knew.

"Oh, Naruto," he breathed as he looked over all the items that she had brought back with her, lying out on the bed.

"For going out," she began, laying a tie on his shoulder. "For staying in," she gave him a bottle of wine, "for laughs," she finished by putting a berrie on his head.

"Better than Christmas," he joked with her, as she started to unpack her things; wanting to show her father her photographs.

Minato glanced down and looked at several well-taken shots. "Who took these?" he asked with interest.

"I did," Naruto answered proudly, and Minato looked surprised before an impressed expression took over. He grinned at her.

Taking out her best black dress, she held it up to herself, looking at it in the mirror. "I hope this hangs out before tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night is Mikoto-san's birthday party," Minato told her.

"Yes. I've been invited," Naruto answered, with a huge grin.

"By whom?" the older blonde inquired.

"By Sasuke-san," she told him. "Of course, he didn't know it was me when he invited me," the blonde added in afterthought.

"He didn't know it was you?" Minato asked with a serious expression on his face.

Naruto turned around to face her father. "He found out later on, but I'm still invited, I guess."

Her father stared at her; a sad smile on his face. "Maybe I'll try steaming it," she said, feeling uncomfortable at his gaze. Taking her dress into the bathroom she turned on the shower.

When she came out, she leaned against the doorframe, taking in the scene before her where Minato looked at her disapprovingly. "Tou-san please?" she begged. "I promised myself all years ago, all those years ago . . . hundreds of times, _thousands_ of times . . . and now I'm actually invited."

Minato sighed as he shook his head.

* * *

**AN: **How was that? I've seen a lot of favorites and follows and I thank you, but please drop a review, if you would. That helps me to know how I'm doing. Time for some fun with Draw your own Conclusion: Naruto is trying to steam her dress and talk her father into letting her go to Sasuke's party. If you review, she gets to go in her pretty dress. If don't, then her father may just say 'no.' Draw your own conclusion. Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Naruto was now making her way down the stairs in her beautiful black dress. Her lips were red, and her teeth white like snow. She looked like a princess, not a chauffeur's daughter.

She walked nervously over to the entrance of the party, where music was playing and all the people were gathered. She spotted Sasuke; talking to some people she didn't know. Glancing up at the tree she used to climb up in, she wondered if this was such a good idea after all.

Sasuke finally noticed the blonde and did a double take. She took a few nervous steps towards him. "Excuse me," he told his guests. He walked over to Naruto until he was standing in front of her.

"Hello, Sasuke-san," she offered timidly.

"Please, call me Sasuke," he told her as she blushed. "I'm glad you're here," he added with sincerity.

Naruto blushed some more, feeling somewhat awkward by all of this.

"You look . . . beautiful," Sasuke complimented the blonde, slowly looking her up and down.

"So do you. You . . . you look handsome." Naruto shook her head as she stumbled in reply, grinning a little.

The raven reached out and offered his hand to the blonde. She looked at it for a moment before accepting; her grin growing wider for each minute. He pulled her towards him and they walked into the party together.

Sakura's parents came over to where Mikoto was standing. "Fabulous party, Mikoto," Mrs. Haruno complimented. "I'm so sorry that Sakura couldn't be here."

"So am I. She gave me a dog," Mikoto answered disdainfully.

Sasuke and Naruto made their way through the crowd, the raven holding the blonde's hand tightly in his.

"I can't believe I'm here," she told the young Uchiha, holding her stomach, trying to fight down the butterflies that were in it.

A man walked by with some champagne. "Here," the raven grabbed one and handed it to the blonde. He could sense the blonde's discomfort.

She hesitantly took a sip. "Better?" he asked, as a friend walked by them and seeing Naruto said, 'whoa, Sasuke.'

"Not yet," Naruto answered honestly, taking another sip.

"Trust me, it will be," the raven assured her, as they continued walking together.

"Has Sakura picked out her dress yet?" Mikoto asked Sakura's mother.

"No, we're still working on the guest list," she replied to the raven-haired woman, who nodded knowingly.

Itachi was in the meanwhile showing off Haruno's latest technology in the house, demonstrating its potential, not caring at all about the party going on outside.

Sasuke got caught talking to some of his guests, while Naruto stood off to the side, still drinking her champagne. He keep looking her way, giving her knowing glances that he'd be with her as soon as possible. She smiled and finishing her glass, reaching out and taking another one as the waiter passed by. She felt so out of place – for several reasons – and deep inside she knew she shouldn't be here by Sasuke's side. Could you blame her though? She'd liked him for so many years.

The raven glanced at her again, giving her a nod and smiling, and she returned it, anxiously waiting for him.

Sakura's parents finally noticed the young woman that Sasuke was now with. "Who's that?" Mrs. Haruno asked Mikoto.

"Who?" she asked, looking around at the crowd of people.

"That girl. The one with Sasuke," Mrs. Haruno answered, pointing the said direction.

"Oh, well, that's—" Mikoto took a double take, "—that's just . . . oh, Kami, that's Naruto!" she exclaimed. "Sasuke's known her since she was two years old."

"I bet she didn't have that dress when she was two year's old," Mr. Haruno acerbically said, as the three of them watched Sasuke and Naruto get closer.

Mikoto narrowed her eyes but let it be, she excused herself and went up to talk to the couple.

"Well, Naruto, when did you get back?" she asked.

"Yesterday," Naruto answered her with a smile. "Happy birthday, Uchiha-san," she told her with a slight bow.

"For a minute I didn't recognize you," Mikoto went on, nodding a little as thanks to the congratulations.

"It's the haircut," Naruto blushed, fiddling nervously with her hair. It was much shorter than before and sometimes she missed the length she'd used to have, other times she was glad the birds nest in the mornings were gone.

Sasuke merely smiled at the exchange.

"To say the least," Mikoto replied, eyeing the girl with something akin to dislike in her eyes, but she hid it well as she studied the lady before her with critical eyes.

"Some surprise, isn't she, Kaa-san?" Sasuke asked, putting his arm around Naruto's shoulders.

"She certainly is, Son," Mikoto answered giving her son 'that look.'

Sasuke shrugged it off, and led Naruto towards the dance floor. She held back with reluctance. "Dance with me," he asked, pulling on her hand a little.

"You mean, right now?" she asked, apprehension clear on her face.

"While the music's playing. It's harder when they stop," the Uchiha answered with a smirk.

The blonde gave him a half-hearted glare at that comment, as the raven pulled her gently up onto the platform. Smirking at her once more, he put his hand on her waist and the other hand in hers. She cautiously put her other hand on the raven's broad shoulders as they began to dance to the romantic music that was playing.

Naruto in awe over what was happening and couldn't help but ignore the warning bells that were going off. It was like they were moving in slow motion. She was dancing with Sasuke. She was actually dancing with him.

Looking over his shoulder, Naruto saw her friends; some were waving at her in approval. She smiled widely at them, giving them a quick 'V' sign behind the raven's back.

"Sasuke?" the blonde tentatively asked, pulling back to look at the young Uchiha.

"Yes?"

"You know I've been to every party you've ever had," Naruto began. "Right there, watching from that tree," she craned her head to look up at the said tree, then turned back to the raven. "Like a bat. And now, here we are, dancing in front of everyone."

The raven shook his head in amusement. "I should have paid more attention to you," he looked her over again. "I don't know what I was thinking of."

"Yourself," Naruto supplied candidly, as they continued to dance. They both laughed at that.

"It feels so good to hold you," Sasuke continued, getting closer to the blonde as they slow danced together.

"Does it?" Naruto asked shyly as she gulped. She felt the man tighten his hold around her waist.

"Do you know how beautiful you are?" the raven asked in a low voice and he tilted his head to the side.

"N-no," the blonde shook her head.

"You're dazzling," the Uchiha told her, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Dazzling?" Naruto repeated, incredulous that these words were coming from Sasuke's mouth.

"Dazzling and suddenly back in my life," the raven went on and spun her around.

And they were once more in an embrace; Naruto looked him in the eyes. "Am I back in your life?" she asked, hopefully.

"I don't think you realize what you've done to me," Sasuke told her gently as he let his eyes wander over her face and down her neck.

"Then . . . you'd better tell me," the blonde stated, nervously. She wasn't sure what Sasuke was doing, but at the moment she was just so glad that he was talking to her, _holding _her.

Sasuke leaned in close to the blonde's ear, his breath tickling her. "You're changing everything," he whispered seductively into her ear.

Naruto shivered.

xcx

"She's like a sister to him, Haruno-san," Mikoto told the paranoid father-in-law, who was now watching the couple dance to close to one another to be mere friends.

"I have a sister, Uchiha-san," he replied in a low, almost dangerous tone. "That's not how we dance."

Mikoto knew she had to do something and quickly. Sasuke was messing things up by thinking with the wrong head, and she was about to pay the price.

Excusing herself from the Harunos she went in search of Itachi, and found him inside talking on the phone. She told him to get off, and gestured wildly at the window, telling him to look outside at Sasuke and Naruto. Itachi looked at his mother before quickly ending his conversation and hung up. He walked to the window and looked out, seeing his brother and the blonde dancing very intimately with each other, he narrowed his eyes and let a sigh escape his lips.

"Foolish little brother," he muttered under his breath.

Naruto was laughing and placed her head against Sasuke's shoulder as he drew her in even closer. The older raven glowered at them darkly as he decided to interrupt the two before Sasuke made a fool of himself and humiliated the poor girl in the process.

"I can't believe this is happening," the younger Uchiha told the blonde. "You're completely transformed."

"And you're exactly the same. You were perfect and you still are perfect," Naruto told him sincerely, smiling up at him with shining eyes.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked huskily.

"Yes?"

"Let's go someplace we can talk," he told her in the same voice.

Naruto blushed a little and she let a nervous smile upon her lips. Warning bells were once more going off. "We're already talking, Sasuke," she answered, feeling hesitant.

"Someplace else . . . please," the raven continued, a hint of desperation in his voice. They faced each other again. "I haven't seen you in years. There's a lot to talk about. Come with me," he asked in a very persuasive tone, that Naruto was finding hard to resist. "Come with me for little while. We could just go—"

"To the solarium?" Naruto supplied. Sasuke looked at her with a surprised frown.

"What?" he queried.

"It has to be the solarium," the blonde told him. "And bring a bottle of champagne. Also, could you put the glasses in the back pockets of your jacket?"

"I don't think I have back pockets in my jacket," the raven replied with a smile on his face. "But I'm sure I could work out something. Anything else?" he asked.

"The orchestra will play, 'How can I remember?'" Naruto went on, describing her dream come true. She was living the moment and didn't want to deal with the possible consequences this could have; she was too happy to care.

"Yes," Sasuke answered in a low tone that made the girl shiver. "I'll have them do that."

Throwing all caution to the wind, the raven reached over and kissed Naruto on the cheek. The blonde closed her eyes in bliss and utter contentment, her mind feeling split as she relished in the feeling of the touch of a man she'd loved for so many years and ignoring the fact that he was already taken by another woman. When she opened her eyes, they met the onyx ones of the dark-haired Uchiha.

He smiled at her, and walked off to set things up.

Naruto turned away and running her hands through her hair she muttered to herself, "And then afterwards, I'll wake up!" She was convinced that this was too good to be true, and therefore it was all only a dream.

Sasuke got the champagne, along with the glasses and placed them in the back pockets of his trousers, covering them up with his jacket, so they were hidden from view. "Thank you," he told the bartender.

He was happily heading in the direction of the solarium to meet Naruto when Itachi came – seemingly out of nowhere – and stopped in front of the younger raven.

"Got a minute, Little Brother?" he asked, although, it was more of a demand than a question.

"Not right now, actually," Sasuke muttered, frowning at the interruption. "I have an appointment."

Itachi threw his arm around his brother's shoulder and pulled the unwilling young man along with him. "Sure you do."

xcx

Mikoto closed the door to a private room and turned to her younger son. "What do you think that you are doing?! Are you insane?! Right smack dab in front of your prominent and paranoid future in-laws—" Mikoto inhaled deeply. "You are hustling the chauffeur's daughter!"

"We were dancing," Sasuke told his mother innocently.

"Then stop dancing!" Mikoto told him.

"You mean I can't have a drink and a dance with an old friend?" the younger raven asked, offended. Itachi gave his brother a glare, and Mikoto put her hands on her hips, shaking her head.

"Do I look stupid?" she retorted hotly.

"I didn't do anything."

"You were planning to!"

"How do you know?" the younger raven demanded.

Itachi finally spoke up, incensed by his younger brother's antics. "You're kidding, right?"

Sasuke just sent him a glare. "I've known her for years, and there is nothing wrong with friends catching up. I find Naruto attractive, is there something wrong with that?"

"Oh, Kami," Mikoto exclaimed, not being able to believe any of this.

"Listen, I didn't plan this," the younger Uchiha defended again. "I can't help it. She's so—" Itachi stared at his brother, who had now turned his back towards him. Something was showing through his jacket. Itachi frowned as he looked again. What was it?

" . . . she's something . . . sensational," the raven finished. The older Uchiha was still trying to figure out what was underneath his brother's jacket.

"The last time you found someone 'sensational' it cost the family a million and half dollars," Mikoto reminded her younger son.

"This time it's different," Sasuke insisted.

"Oh, that's so original. But what about Sakura? You finally find the right girl—"

The younger Uchiha interrupted. "Who's got the right parents who own the right company."

"You asked her to marry you!" Mikoto reminded him.

"Actually, she asked me," he corrected.

Itachi had enough. "Kaa-san, go outside and blow out your candles," he said coming around the couch and towards his brother.

"Can't we just send someone?" she whined as she headed to the door.

Itachi walked over to stand in front of Sasuke. "Otōto, what do you think Naruto wants? She's lived her whole life above that garage. Either with her nose pressed against the glass, or up in that tree—" he pointed out the window, "—watching us at parties. Now you invite her one." He gestured to Sasuke's clothes as he talked. "You're in your Rolex jacket—" Sasuke huffed and fold his arms across his chest. "—you tell her to meet you in the solarium—" the older Uchiha went on. "—and she knows you'll show up with that bottle of champagne."

Mikoto slowly walked back to the pair as she heard this.

"That's not it, that has nothing to do with it," the younger Uchiha adamantly protested.

Itachi went on, as if he hadn't heard Sasuke. "She knows what's coming. The jet to Martha's Vineyard, the cottage full of food and flowers." The younger raven turned his back to Itachi, unwilling to hear this. "House seats to some sold out show, drinks at the Carlyle, a day or two of that, and she'd fall for Orochimaru," the eldest Uchiha finished; Orochimaru being a well-known pedophile that was currently in jail.

Sasuke turned back around. "You don't know her or the way she makes me feel; I actually _like_ her. Maybe even love her. I can't be engaged to someone when I feel like this," he obstinately insisted. He came back over to Itachi, heading towards the door. "I can't talk about this now—"

Mikoto decided to interrupt. "Sasuke, you're not going anywhere. We have to talk about this."

"I have to be someplace," the younger Uchiha insisted, sounding urgent.

"Whatever it is, it can wait. This is more important. You can't mess around like this!" Mikoto told her son. "There is too much at stake here!"

"Look, Naruto is waiting for me," the younger raven told his mother and brother, looking at them with beseeching eyes. "I don't want her to think I've stood her up."

Itachi smirked ever so slightly so that Sasuke didn't pick up on it. "Don't worry. I'll take care of her," he reassured him, seriously.

xcx

**AN: **All right people, you know the drill: Review please! Let me know what you think. Ask questions, comment, say what you like or don't like. Let me know you're out there! It motivates me to keep writing. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**  
_Written by Carrie2sky  
Betaed by MrsHellman_

Naruto was waiting for Sasuke in the solarium, checking out all the beautiful plants and flowers. She was beginning to wonder if something might have happened to the raven, or perhaps he wasn't coming.

She frowned. Maybe he was just playing games with her. Naruto bit her lip. No, that couldn't be. He certainly seemed sincere enough earlier.

She sighed and turned her head upwards. He better have a good reason for being late.

Itachi looked in, seeing that Naruto had her back turned away from the door. Carrying two glasses and a bottle of champagne, he decided to make his entrance.

Hearing the door open, Naruto smiled, thinking it was finally Sasuke. Turning around with a wide smile that quickly faded into a surprised frown when she saw it wasn't Sasuke but Itachi, she could only blink in confusion.

"Itachi-san?" she asked, clearly perplexed as to why he was here.

"Hello, Naruto," he greeted, elegantly coming down the steps towards her. "I have a message from Sasuke. He sadly won't be able to make it."

Naruto looked crushed at this. She knew it had been too good to be true. Why did she have to get her foolish hopes up, only to have them dashed like waves upon a rock?

"He sent me instead," the older raven went on, seemingly oblivious to Naruto's inner turmoil. She hung her head in clear disappointment. "I'm sorry. You're upset," he finally observed. "Of course."

"Yes— I mean no, or—" she sighed. ". . . I don't know," Naruto answered, rubbing her face a little. "I'm a little tired," she confessed. Looking at Itachi she asked, "Why didn't he come?"

"Something else came up that was rather . . . urgent," the older Uchiha explained, watching Naruto's face carefully, as he prepared the drinks.

Naruto started to move slowly towards the raven, curious as to what he was doing. The cork to the bottle went off with a small 'pop' as she watched it fly off.

"When can I see him again?" the blonde asked, trying to keep the concern out of her voice, but failing.

"Perhaps tomorrow, if he's not too busy," Itachi told her as he poured the champagne into each glass and carried them over to Naruto. Handing her a glass, she looked at him with a quizzical look on her face.

"What this for?" she asked taking the glass in her hand.

"Part of the message from Sasuke," he told her in a deep, smooth voice. Naruto noted that Itachi's voice was very different than Sasuke's. For that matter, she hadn't really spent much time with Itachi to hear his voice that often, but there was something to his voice that drew her in…something she couldn't explain. Itachi held up his own glass in a toast and took a sip.

Naruto eyed him suspiciously.

"They've sent you to deal with me, haven't they?" she shrewdly asked. It all made sense to her now.

"They?" the raven repeated, feigning ignorance.

"Like a lawyer in a movie," the blonde went on taking a few steps back from Itachi. "He goes to the unsuitable waitress, or showgirl, or chauffeur's daughter and says, 'the family is prepared to offer you a hundred thousand dollars to stay away from their son.' 'No,' she says. 'a hundred and _fifty_ thousand dollars,'" she went on taking a small sip of the liquor, not really enjoying the dry, sugary taste. "'No,'"—

"Two hundred thousand," Itachi cut in, playing along with the blonde's game as a smirk played on thin lips.

"No," the blonde quietly answered, about to take another sip of her drink.

"A million," Itachi said just as quietly. Looking over at Naruto, he gave her a slight smile. "No self-respecting lawyer would offer less."

"No self-respecting waitress would take it," Naruto countered, putting her drink down.

"Good girl," the raven praised her as she eyed him with puzzlement, and then turned her back on him, walking a little further away.

"You know I've loved him all my life," the blonde confessed suddenly out of the blue.

"Have you?" Itachi asked, not really caring. He assumed she was upset over the fact that the mentioned 'love' had not shown up.

"I thought I was over it," she went on, her back still turned to the raven.

"Surprise, surprise," the Uchiha replied.

Naruto turned around to look at him with smile. "You don't object?"

Itachi looked at her in the eye. "Object? To you? Look at you. It's as if a lovely breeze has swept over this entire house."

"Even though the breeze comes from the general direction of the garage?" Naruto retorted.

"It's the 21st century," the raven evenly replied. "Not the 12th."

"So they say," Naruto agreed. She suddenly heard music playing in the background. It was the song that she had wanted to hear for a while now; 'How can I remember?'

She closed her eyes and felt herself become filled with sadness. She was hoping that by now she would have been dancing with Sasuke and perhaps even . . . more.

She turned away again, with Itachi observing her closely. "They played this song the night before I left for Paris."

Itachi walked a bit closer and put his glass down next to Naruto's.

"And he was standing here . . . dancing with someone," the blonde went on, reminiscing.

"Yeah. He has often done that," the raven agreed, coming up right behind the blonde. "And tonight, you wanted it to be you." He spoke in a low tone, right by her ear.

She turned around at the closeness of his voice to face him. She gave him a half shrug in agreement.

Itachi did something next that Naruto did not expect. He put his arm around her waist, pulling her a bit closer and held up his other hand for her to take. "It's all in the family," he hummed.

Naruto looked up at him, surprised by his boldness. Nevertheless, she tentatively placed her hand on the raven's shoulder; suddenly realizing Itachi was much taller than Sasuke.

They slowly began to dance, Naruto was hesitant as first, but after a few minutes, she began to relax a bit.

"I never thought of you as dancer," she genuinely told the raven.

"I've never had the opportunity to dance with someone else, but that's doesn't mean I don't like to," Itachi smoothly replied as they continued to dance.

Naruto was surprised to see how well the raven danced. Some of her awkward feelings about all of this were starting to fade, though she had no idea why. This just shouldn't be right, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt incapable to stop it.

"In all those years, I never saw you do this. I mean, meet a girl here with champagne," Naruto wryly commented as she allowed Itachi to lead her in the slow dance.

"Never done it before," Itachi told her in a low voice.

"You never _had to_ before," the blonde corrected him.

Itachi smirked at this. "Is it impossible to believe that I want to dance with the loveliest girl at the party?"

"Thank you." Naruto felt a small blush creep onto her cheeks. "But yes, it is hard to believe."

"Then you don't know me," came the cryptic reply. Itachi subtly moved closer to the blonde as they danced and then he all of a sudden said, "Ah, I almost forgot something."

Reaching down, he let his lips rest gently against the blonde's, successfully capturing them in a small kiss. Naruto was completely shocked as her eyes went wider than saucers. She didn't respond as Itachi let his lips put light pressure on hers. They parted with a small noise. "The rest of the message from Sasuke," he explained as he pulled back to look at her as if nothing extraordinary had just happened.

Coming out of her shocked state, outraged, Naruto slapped the raven hard across his cheek. It echoed loudly in the room. With a neutral look on his features, Itachi put his hand on the spot, still feeling the sting.

The blonde instantly regretted the action as she clenched her jaws together. She'd always had a knack for acting before thinking.

". . . guess I needed that," the Uchiha sardonically said with his hand still placed on his burning cheek.

"What did— I don't—how—?" Naruto couldn't form a proper sentence as she stood there shaking her head in disbelief. "I should never have—"

"No, I apologize," Itachi firmly cut her off.

"You . . . you have my handprint on . . . your face," she managed to get out.

"I once again ask for pardon for my actions. You'll see Sasuke again soon. Good night."

With that, he picked up his nearly full glass and left a stunned blonde behind in the solarium. She stared after him as his back left her view, still wondering what in blazes had just happened.

Touching her fingers to her lips – still being able to feel the moisture his lips had left – she wondered why it still tingled.

She had been completely unaware of Itachi retracting a mobile from his front pocket, dialing a number.

"Kisame, I'm going to stay out here for the next two days. Cancel whatever I've got and reschedule. Have the plane stand by from 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning and set up the Vineyard cottage," he instructed his assistant on the phone. "I don't know. Flowers, candles, singers. Call Sasuke's secretary, it's the only thing she ever does," the raven went on, nodding to people as they were leaving the party. Kisame said something in the negative. "Why not? I'm up, you're up . . . you weren't? Well, call her anyway," he told him with finality, and hung up to say good-bye to some guests.

**xcx**

The next morning, Itachi met his mother in the workout room. She was on an exercise cycle, and had just noted her son's appearance.

"You're not going to work that way, are you?" she asked. Itachi stopped in his tracks. He was wearing khaki colored trousers with a dark blue collared shirt. Normally, the older raven would wear and suit and tie.

Ignoring the question, he asked one of his own. "Did Haruno-san say anything after I left last night?"

"He wondered where everyone had gone," she answered with a shrug. "Maybe I should talk to Naruto," she trailed off, thinking.

"Naruto? And say what?" Itachi wanted to know, as he studied himself in a nearby mirror.

"Naruto's very lovely, but Sasuke has a short attention span, and he's just jerking her chain," Mikoto said, and then she thought about it for a moment. "Could I say that to her in person? Using those words? Jerking one's chain? Is that the proper way to go about it?"

"How did your conversation go with Sasuke?" Itachi interrupted.

Mikoto sighed. "Not very well. He still wants to see Naruto and talk to her. Do you think we should talk to Sakura? Try to get her back here?" the mother questioned, a frown appearing between dark brows.

"No need for that," Itachi quickly answered. "You need to keep Sasuke busy at the company. I know he doesn't like to be there, but make stuff up for him to do. Keep him away from here and from Naruto. This whole thing happened in twenty-four hours, I can make it unhappen in forty-eight," he said pointing to his mother. "I like Naruto, I always have, but I'm not about to kiss off a billion dollars. I don't care what she did to her hair."

With those words he left the room, leaving his mother to stare after him in bewilderment. She'd never understand the way her two sons saw solutions.

**xcx**

Naruto was making her way over to the mansion to see if Sasuke was around today and was very surprised to see Itachi come out through the door before she could even knock.

"Good morning," he casually greeted her.

"Good morning," she quietly answered. She still felt very awkward about what had transpired between them last night.

"I'm sorry to tell you that Sasuke isn't here. He got called into the office," Itachi informed the blonde who looked suspicious at hearing this news.

"Sasuke-san went into the office?" she queried. That was highly unusual.

"Yes. Something came up that only he could deal with. It's most likely going to tie him up for a while. You can try again in a few days," Itachi told her with a small shrug on his shoulders.

". . . right. Thank you," Naruto answered as she turned to leave, but Itachi stopped her with a question.

"This may seem like an awkward request, but I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you . . ."

Naruto stopped and turned back to face him.

"We have this summer cottage on the Vineyard we never use anymore. I want to put it on the market," he explained to Naruto. "I was going to have a few pictures taken." The blonde frowned at him, wondering where the older raven was going with this. "You know, the kind that make it look bigger than it is."

Naruto hummed in her throat, understanding what he was saying.

"I understand that you have an interest in photography," Itachi went on, leaning in a little towards the blonde. "I thought you might like to take them," he inquired, as the blonde frowned once more. "The trip would be no trouble. Helicopter could pick us up here. Plane's at Republic," the older Uchiha explained as Naruto's mouth went wide, staring at Itachi. He looked at her face and asked, "Is that a lot to ask?"

**xcx**

The helicopter soon landed at Republic with Itachi and Naruto stepping out to walk towards the private jet.

"Saves all that time fighting traffic," the raven explained to the blonde as they walked.

"And all those tollbooths," she added as the older Uchiha glanced at her quizzically, deciding not to question that statement.

Naruto boarded the airplane first. It was absolutely amazing. It had about ten lovely plush seats in a couple of rows facing opposite each other – and plenty of legroom. As they sat down – in seats across from each other – a flight attendant buckled the blonde in. Itachi gave her a quick look as she settled in and then started looking over some documents he had brought with him. The blonde was still in shock over how nice the airplane was.

She grinned widely. She had never been on a private jet before. It was incredible.

Now airborne, the flight attendant offered Naruto a magazine. "No thank you," she courteously declined.

"Something to drink then, Miss?" she asked instead.

"Just Naruto, please," she told the woman in the same tone.

"Oh, what a beautiful name!" the flight attendant exclaimed, as Naruto nervously smiled at her.

"Ahem," Itachi interrupted with a glare at the said woman, who murmured an apology.

"Can I get you something, Uchiha-san?" she asked Itachi instead.

"Pellegrino," he answered, picking up the phone next to him.

The woman turned to Naruto. "I'll have the same," she answered.

As the other woman left, Itachi turned towards Naruto – whom was staring at her lap with a small smile.

He smirked and then turned his attention to the phone call. "Kisame, anything from Granger? Anybody else at SEC? No, tell him I'll call him back as soon as I can," Itachi told his assistant as he hung up the phone. Turning back to Naruto, he started up a conversation.

"So, that really is a beautiful name. How did you get it?" he asked as she looked up at him.

Blushing slightly, she answered, "My Godfather named a character in one of his books that name. Dad took quite a liking to it."

"Oh?" the raven asked, raising one brow, indicating that he wanted to know more.

The blonde sighed, but complied and proceeded to tell the raven about the book, finishing it just as the flight attendant brought them their drinks, this time without starting up a conversation.

Naruto sipped her drink, looking away from the raven for a minute and out the window. When she looked over at him again, she saw that he was engrossed in his work once again, and she snorted, causing him to look up at her.

"It's an incredible airplane," she told him, just to get away from the silence. "It's beautiful. I've never seen anything like it."

"Aa," was the reply – as if it was nothing, which it really wasn't to him – and then went back to reading his documents.

"Don't you ever look out the window?" Naruto inquisitively asked him, gesturing to the transparent window with her hands.

Itachi didn't look up. "When do I have the time to?" he rhetorically replied.

"What happened to all that time we saved taking the helicopter?" the blonde boldly continued.

Itachi finally looked up at her, and blue eyes met onyx. "I'm storing it up," he flatly said.

"No, you're not," she accused him. He just started at her in disbelief at her audacity. She was quite the spitfire and said whatever was on her mind without thinking. Interesting.

Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "So, your Godfather you say? Mind telling me some more about his works?"

Naruto, deciding not to push the issue of the 'time saver', smiled, and acquiesced to the raven's request. It was obvious to her as they talked, that Itachi wasn't very used to having casual conversations. It seemed business was all he knew how to talk about. Still, they managed to have a decent conversation.

When they landed, they drove a car out to the cottage. It was located by the ocean, surrounded by a quaint fishing village. To say it was absolutely beautiful would be an understatement. Once they got inside, Naruto started taking pictures of the house, which she noted was beautifully decorated. It was a moderate sized cottage, picturesque and cozy.

Itachi silently showed her around, watching her take the pictures with detached interest.

"Is it always like this?" Naruto curiously asked the raven.

"I don't know. I haven't been here in years," the Uchiha authentically replied.

"How can you have a place like this and never come here?" she asked in disbelief as an incredulous expression came over her face.

"Ah, well, I don't know. I guess I . . . I just never had anybody to share it with," he nonchalantly confessed. The blonde cocked her head slightly to side at this.

"You could always hire somebody," Naruto just blurted out as Itachi sharply looked up at her. She instantly regretted her words and gave the raven an apologetic look. What had possessed her to say something like that anyway? Then, taking her camera and aiming it at Itachi, she was about to take a picture of him.

"Not me. The house, please," he told her putting up his hand in protest.

Putting the camera down, Naruto replied, "You're in the house. It humanizes it."

"I don't like having my picture taken," Itachi answered arching a perfectly shaped brow at her. "I come out looking too depressed, according to my mother that is."

Naruto frowned. "Are you depressed?" the blonde asked with genuine wonder.

"Maybe that's not exactly the right word," the raven amended.

"What is the right word?" Naruto pressed.

The Uchiha walked over the window and looked outside. "I don't know. Lonely, maybe."

Naruto gave him a slight smile at this. When Itachi turned back to see it, he asked, "You think that's funny?"

"No!" she rapidly answered. "I just expected you to say something else."

"I suppose you're right," the raven continued, adjusting a wooden bird on the windowsill. "It is funny though. Uchiha Itachi is lonely."

Naruto gazed at him, a frown forming on her face. She felt really awkward now. Itachi turned back to face her again. "I'm sorry, I've made you uncomfortable," he said, seeing the look on her face. "Come on, let's get the outside," he suggested as they walked out onto the deck.

"Do you want a view from the house?" Naruto asked the raven once they were outside.

"Ah, sure," he distractedly replied.

"Which one?"

"All of them," the raven answered, not really caring.

The blonde looked over at him. "More isn't always better, Itachi-san." Itachi turned to look at her. She took her camera off and handed it to the raven. "Pick one," she said.

"I don't know anything about—" Itachi began, looking at the outstretched camera with hesitancy.

"Don't take a picture, just look," Naruto told him as he accepted the camera.

The raven looked through the camera, seeing lots of ocean and the quaint fishing village, until his eye caught something interesting. "Lighthouse. Guy going into the lighthouse." He took the camera away from his eyes. "There's a job for you. What must that be like?"

Naruto turned to him, fascinated by what the raven had discovered.

"What kind of a guy takes a job keeping a lighthouse?" the raven continued, not really expecting an answer to his question.

The blonde stared at him in wonder, before breaking into a grin. Itachi handed her the camera back.

"Every time I look through a camera, I'm surprised," she stated, getting ready to take the picture of the lighthouse. "It's like . . . finding yourself in the middle of a story, like you just did." The raven just listened, as he watched her take the picture with ease. "What kind of a guy takes a job keeping a lighthouse? I think I've been taking pictures all my life . . . long before I ever had a camera."

Itachi watched her with silent wonder at her words. Just then, the phone rang from inside. He briefly tensed. "Excuse me," he then said as he went inside, leaving Naruto to take the rest of the pictures.

"Well, call him back, Kaa-san, and raise the offer half a point, no more. Out here? Lousy. So far, I seem more affected than she is. I darn near cried, twice. I'm running out of time here. I don't know what to try. Are you keeping Sasuke busy? Good. I'll call you later."

When Itachi returned, Naruto turned to him. "I'm finished here," she expectantly said, wondering what to do next.

"Well, we should have some lunch, and then you probably should get a look at the island while you're here," the raven suggested.

Naruto nodded, a smile playing in her lips for the twentieth time that day.

Not that Itachi counted. No, not in the slightest.

* * *

**AN:** This was a longer chapter, hoped you liked this. This does move at a slow pace, but that's kind of the point. Please review, so I know if you like it or not. Comments and constructive (nice) criticism is welcome. Until next time!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**  
_Written by Carrie2sky  
Betaed by MrsHellman_

The pair ended up renting some bikes and began to explore the island. Since Itachi had been there before – even though it had been ages ago – he still knew where all the best sites were located. He kept stealing glances at the bubbling blonde riding next to him, who was in awe at everything she saw. He decided to venture a question.

"Do you miss Paris?" he asked her.

"Not yet, but I will," Naruto cheerfully replied, thoroughly enjoying the bike ride. The island had areas that reminded her of Paris, but of course nothing could compare to that city.

"You liked it there then?" the raven continued.

"I loved it!" she gushed. Then giving Itachi a sly look said, "I bet you'd probably hate it."

"Why do you think so?" he asked, looking over at her in surprise and raising one brow.

"They work as hard as anyone, but they know when to quit and enjoy themselves. They are happier there," Naruto explained. Itachi fell silent at this statement, not really knowing how to answer.

They continued riding for quite some until it got to the point where Itachi had pretty much showed Naruto the entire island. He was wondering where they should go next when suddenly the blonde came to a sudden stop. Itachi stopped as well, wondering what in the world made his companion brake so abruptly.

"Oh!" she exclaimed as the raven looked over at her, wondering what was wrong. "What a beautiful building!" Naruto pointed to a very old, but elegant looking building made entirely out of brick. "Nobody builds with brick anymore," the blonde continued wistfully.

The Uchiha looked over at the said building. "That's late 1800's," he supplied rather uninterested, as Naruto pulled out her camera to take a picture to capture the building.

"Do you know that in Paris, they build most of their buildings with brick?" Naruto informed him as Itachi looked at his watch. "I hope they don't tear it down," she sadly sighed.

"They won't," Itachi assured her and she looked over at him, a surprised look on her face. "I own it. That whole block," he pointed out as he noticed her confusion.

Naruto gave him an awed look and then snapped another picture. The raven took notice to a peddler picking cans out of trashcan when an idea came to him. Puffing his chest out just a bit, he said importantly, "I donated it to the village as a halfway house." **(1)**

Naruto looked over at him in astonishment, her jaw slacking a bit as a smile started to form on her lips.

The raven went on, now that he had her attention. "You know, jails are full of people that never had a break." He turned his gaze back to the street guy. "Look at this man, picking cans. They get back to the wall and commit some petty crime. They're stuck; they're outsiders for the rest of their lives."

The blonde continued to stare at the raven with impressed amazement. "It's not fair," the Uchiha went on, laying it on thick for his captive audience, "The only chance they'll ever have is a halfway house that will help them get back on their feet."

Naruto was so shocked by his statement she was rendered speechless, which said a lot for her, since she was always talking. She had no idea that Itachi even cared about such petty things – in his opinion - she thought. She grinned at him as he turned to the homeless man.

"Excuse me," he asked as the man looked up. "Could you take a picture of us?"

The man appeared to be a bit surprised at the request, but nodded nonetheless as Naruto showed him which button to push. She looked at Itachi again, thoroughly bemused, because just minutes ago he had refused to have his picture taken. Looking at the blonde, the raven decided to place his arm around her waist, and draw her closer to him. She felt a little awkward at the gesture though relaxed soon enough; then the camera clicked.

From there they rode down to the pier and had a small picnic dinner, consisting of baked clams among other things. Itachi had baked the clams himself, which caused Naruto to chalk up yet another interesting fact about Itachi that she never knew. He was full of surprises and not what she had expected of him at all.

As the night fell, Itachi lit up a fire and Naruto sat down close to it. It was a perfect ending to their day together. She was still in awe at all she had seen today. Itachi had certainly given her some surprising revelations about himself that she never knew. Guess you can't judge a book by its cover, she thought, as she finished eating.

Itachi had just finished his last clam, and looked over at Naruto – who was quietly sipping her drink. "Are you done?" he asked, gesturing to the remaining food.

"I don't think I can eat anymore," she told him with a soft smile.

"It's too late to give the clams their freedom," Itachi teased her.

Naruto laughed at that and looked at the raven out the corner of her eye. She had not believed Itachi to have a sense of humor. He didn't strike her as the type. "You know, you are not exactly what people say you are," she voiced her thoughts aloud.

"Oh, really?" Itachi asked with genuine interest as he leaned forward, getting slightly closer to the blonde sitting across from him. "What do people say I am?"

"Oh, you know," the blonde vaguely answered, now feeling awkward. He was getting too close to her personal bubble for comfort, and she really didn't want to hurt Itachi's feelings by saying some things that she had heard about him from others.

"No, I don't actually. You'll have to be more specific," the raven replied with a shake of his head. It was clear though – through his intense stare – that he wanted her to enlighten him on the subject.

Pausing for a moment Naruto finally answered, still feeling a little uncomfortable. "Well . . . how does this one go?" the blonde thought out loud as she scrunched her nose. "He thinks that morals are paintings on walls and that scruples are money in Russia."

Itachi gave her a sour look. "Charming."

Naruto smirked at him. "And then there's my favorite—"

"No, I get the picture," the Uchiha interrupted, putting one hand up in an indication for her to stop. "It's enough," he said as he went back to the food. Naruto was madly grinning at him, though he didn't see it.

"Do you remember the rainy afternoon we spent together?" she queried with yet another sideways look at the raven.

"Sorry, I don't," the raven honestly answered.

"My father had driven Mikoto-san and Sasuke-san into town for a music lesson," she started, looking at something distant as she remembered that day.

"How old was he?" Itachi asked.

"I don't know. Fourteen, fifteen," Naruto answered, thinking back. "It was stormy," she went on as Itachi nodded for her to continue. "I was afraid, and I came into your house... I tried to turn on a lamp and I got a shock. I thought I had been struck by lightning." The raven had a slight smirk on his face, and it was then that Naruto finally looked over at him. "You noticed and stayed with me all afternoon, until Otou-san came home."

"...and you didn't cry," Itachi commented; now remembering the incident. "You were a brave kid."

"No," Naruto corrected him gently. "I was more afraid of you than being electrocuted. Everybody was at that time."

The raven went silent at this, not really sure how to respond to that. There was awkward silence between them.

Naruto wondered if she had spoken too honestly and decided to ask a question that had lately been on her mind.

"Is there a reason you never got married?" she asked, finally breaking the tense atmosphere.

Itachi looked at her, an unreadable expression on his face.

"You probably don't believe in marriage," she quickly added, not giving the raven a chance to answer.

"Actually, I do," he answered, not looking at the blonde's face. "And that's why I never got married." He looked up again to meet the girl's gaze. "Sasuke, on the other hand, well... sometimes, I don't know what he believes."

Naruto laughed. "That's why I like him," she said while taking another sip of her wine.

"Well, I like him too. As a matter of fact, I love him," the Uchiha told her with sincerity. He deeply sighed as he put a loose piece of hair back behind his ear. "I just don't know what to do with him."

The blonde looked over at Itachi, a quizzical look on her face. "You know, when he was a kid, he used to love to come into the office," he went on, taking his eyes off of Naruto again. "He'd sit behind my father's desk and write memos. Then he'd read the ticker tape. One day, he just stopped. I can't figure it out—" he stopped abruptly, thinking back to what Naruto had said earlier about what people thought of him. He couldn't get it off his mind.

"Are those the only things people say about me?" He had to ask, changing the subject, as Naruto only giggled in response, much to Itachi's chagrin.

xcx

It was very late when they got back to the mansion, so Itachi drove the blonde right up to the garage. They got out of the car, and walked together towards the steps that would take Naruto up to her room. The both paused there, not exactly sure how to end the night without awkwardness. Itachi finally spoke.

"It was a nice day," the raven reflected as Naruto nodded in agreement. They stopped at the bottom of the stairs, both facing each other. "You were a little tough on me though," he told her with a small smirk.

"I guess you're used to being professionally treated by those around you," the blonde replied with a smile of her own.

"When will you have the pictures ready?" he asked, not replying to her statement.

"In a few days," she answered. "Why?"

"I was wondering if you could you drop them by the office?" Itachi casually asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Sure," Naruto automatically answered without thinking.

"Great. Well then, goodnight... Namikaze Naruto," he told her, his face turning into a genuine smile. He then turned and stated to walk away.

"Itachi-san?" Naruto called as he turned around to face her.

"Yes?"

She took a step towards him and continued, a bit hesitant. "Otou-san once asked Sasuke-san why he stopped coming to the office. And he told him, 'What do they need me for? Nii-san is there.'"

Itachi paused for a moment before answering. "Listen, I do real work in the real world. Sasuke watches from the comfort of mansion."

"I know you work in the real world, and you're awfully good at it," Naruto seriously told him," as she shook her head a bit. "I bet you haven't made a wrong move since you were three. But that's work. Where do you live, Itachi-san?" she frankly asked, surprising herself at her boldness once more.

The stoic raven found that he couldn't answer the blonde's question for some reason. Naruto waited for a minute but didn't really expect an answer. It was a personal question and she didn't really know Itachi that well. She really had no business even asking such a question, but she just couldn't stop herself from inserting her foot into her mouth sometimes.

She looked down and away from Itachi feeling bad that she had even asked him that.

"It was a nice day," she told him, looking up at him again, and smiling again. "Thank you, Itachi-san. Good night." With that, she turned and headed up the stairs.

Itachi turned away as well, pondering the blonde's words.

xcx

When Naruto got to her father's door, she knocked. She heard a 'come in,' and entered. Minato was reading again.

"Hi, Tou-san," she greeted.

"Hello there. Where were you? In town?" he asked, putting his book down.

"On Martha's Vineyard," the blonde answered, still standing in the doorway with the door open. "Itachi-san wanted me to take some pictures."

"Itachi-san did?" Minato asked, putting his hand up to his face, a thoughtful and slightly suspicious expression on his face.

Naruto smiled, knowing what that look was all about. "I love so many things about you, Tou-san," she began with mirth. "But you know what I love best of all?" she went on, walking towards all the books her father had on his shelf, studying them. "That you decided to become a chauffeur because you wanted to have time to read, even though you could have become anything else you might have wanted."

She picked up one book to look at it. Minato carefully watched her; his hand still on his face with what now looked like amusement. "All my life, I've pictured you... sitting in the front seat of a long succession of cars waiting for the Uchihas and reading." She sighed deeply and ran a hand through her hair.

"We had baked clams. Itachi-san baked them. I used to be so afraid of him," she admitted.

"It's appropriate," the older blonde replied, finally speaking after listening to his daughter talk for a while.

"What was he like as a child?" Naruto wanted to know.

"Shorter," was the only response she got and she couldn't help but laugh.

xcx

The following day, Naruto had just gotten out of the shower, and in her bathrobe, was trying to decide what to wear, when her phone rang. She wondered why someone would be calling her as she didn't get calls often.

"Hello?" she answered.

"_Hi, Naruto. It's Sasuke_."

"Sasuke?" Naruto didn't know how the raven got her number – not that it mattered really – because it just surprised her. She realized that she hadn't been as obsessed with Sasuke after spending time with Itachi yesterday, but now that he was calling her on the phone...

"_Listen, I'm sorry that I've been so busy lately. I've finally been able to get my hands on some free time and wondered if you'd like to meet me in the city for lunch? Today_?"

Naruto's heart began to flutter in her chest. She still had strong feelings for the younger raven. "Of course. Where would like me to meet you?" she asked.

After telling her where to go and what time, she thanked him and then hung up. Realizing that she didn't have much time, she decided she had better hurry and get ready; it was a long trip into the city from here. With great anticipation, she quickly got ready, feeling excited.

On the train ride into the city, Naruto's thoughts drifted towards Sasuke. She knew that deep in her heart this wasn't right, but she couldn't help but feel she still had a chance with the younger raven. He represented all she wanted in a man; he was handsome, witty, fun and carefree. Just then a different thought came into her mind. Itachi was very different than Sasuke, as she began to compare them in her mind. Sure, Itachi was handsome, but he was also stoic, hard to read and – frankly – pretty stiff. He certainly seemed to have had a great time yesterday with her, as far as she could tell. And surprisingly, she had enjoyed herself with him.

Naruto shook her head to clear her thoughts. No use in thinking about that now...

Sasuke had picked a nice outdoor café for lunch, since it was a very lovely day outside. He was waiting for the blonde outside by one of the tables, his face lighting up when he saw the blonde woman. She was attractively dressed; wearing a light blue blouse that complemented her eyes, along with some tan trousers. She had her hair done up very nice, and her face was lightly made up, not overdone in the slightest.

When Naruto caught sight of Sasuke, she smiled and walked over to him.

"Hi, Sasuke," she shyly greeted, remembering to call him by his name, but it still felt strange to do so.

"Naruto, I'm so glad you came," Sasuke told her with a slight smirk as he offered his arm out for her to take, which she did as he led her to where they would be sitting. "You'll love the food here. It's great," he told her as she looked over the menu.

"Is there anything you recommend?" she asked him, skimming the content.

"The baked calms are good," he told her as her eyes widened in surprise. Sasuke and Itachi both liked baked calms? Well, it shouldn't be that surprising. They are brothers after all. Seems they have at least a few things in common.

"I think I'll try the chicken," Naruto finally decided, not wanting baked clams again so soon. The waitress came and they both placed their orders.

"So, how have you been, Naruto?" Sasuke asked. "I still feel bad that I was never able to meet you in the solarium."

Naruto looked over at him. "That's okay," she answered. "I've been fine. Keeping busy."

"Oh? Doing what?" Sasuke asked taking a sip of his drink.

"Itachi-san wanted me to take some pictures of a cottage for him, so we spent the day on Martha's Vineyard," Naruto told him.

"Really?" Sasuke commented, curious what his brother was up to this time around. It wasn't like Itachi to do such things. Sasuke felt suspicious of his actions, and decided to file it away for now. Then they talked a bit more about trivial things, until their food came out.

As Naruto and Sasuke ate, the blonde asked Sasuke some questions about what goals and plans the raven had for his life which – much to her surprise – he didn't really have any. He seemed pretty content with how he was currently living his life. He didn't speak about his fiancée either. He smirked at her quite a bit, and seemed to eye her like child would in a candy store.

After lunch, Sasuke offered to drive Naruto home, which she accepted. Sasuke continued to talk about a variety of things, which mostly revolved around himself, Naruto noted, as she simply listened to him talk. She found that she liked the sound of his voice, regardless of the fact that he was talking about himself. It was different than Itachi's. Itachi had a deep, smooth voice; Sasuke's wasn't as deep, but it had rich sound to it. She couldn't help but find herself comparing the two brothers the more she spent time with them. She couldn't shake a confusing feeling that creep up in the back of her mind.

When they got back to the mansion, Sasuke came around the car and opened the door for Naruto as she stepped out.

"I had a great time with you today, Naruto," the raven told her as she turned to face him.

"So did I. Thank you, Sasuke," the blonde shyly smiled.

Sasuke leaned closer and cupped Naruto's face. She knew what was going to happen next. As the raven's lips inched closer to her own, Naruto wondered what Sasuke tasted like, what it would be like to kiss him. She closed her eyes as their lips met. It was a gentle kiss at first, exploratory, on both parts; his lips were softer than she thought.

Sasuke pulled her close up against him, holding her waist. Naruto hadn't realized that she had put her arms around his neck. They shared a passionate kiss between them, making it seem as if time had slowed down entirely. They broke the kiss after what seemed like eternity to come up for air.

Naruto's face was flushed, and Sasuke wore a lust-filled expression on his face, as he looked at Naruto, who was still trying to get her breath back.

"Wow, Sasuke…that was…" The blonde started.

"…Incredible," Sasuke put in. Naruto blushed at the words. "I would very much like to see you again, Naruto," the younger raven added, intoning a soft plea.

Not trusting herself to say anything else she simply thanked him for the time out and bid him goodnight.

Naruto went into her room and closed the door. Thankfully, her father wasn't home. She didn't want to face him right now. He would not approve, and she wasn't in the mood for a lecture. She sat down on her bed to process what had just happened. It had been wonderful to kiss Sasuke like that. She had dreamed of that very moment most of her life, but something in the back of her mind felt slightly uncomfortable now and it wasn't just because Sasuke was engaged to be married.

* * *

**AN:** Things are getting interesting, eh? Love triangles, you gotta love 'em! Please review and let me know how I am doing with this. It motivates me to continue! Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

* * *

A week later, in downtown Manhattan, at the Uchiha Corporation, Itachi was staring out the window, looking at the spectacular view of the city as Kisame was going over the day's schedule. Itachi really wasn't paying attention to what was being said.

"Quarterly reports from Publishing will be on-line at 4:00. International wants a teleconference at 5:15, and Deidara called," Kisame rattled off the events on his list.

Itachi turned away from the window. He came over to his desk and sat down. "Kisame, you know that old brick building that we own at the Vineyard?" he asked, completely off topic.

"Er... yes?" Kisame answered, not sure where this was going.

"Find out if there is any tax advantage to having that building donated to the village," the Uchiha told him, turning around in his seat.

"And if there isn't?" Kisame asked his boss.

"Then forget it," the raven replied. Kisame shrugged and then started to walk away. "Oh, and I need two tickets to whatever Broadway show nobody can get tickets for," Itachi added as Kisame turned around to face him again. "And a table at the Carlyle for drinks," he finished, not looking at his assistant.

"For whom?" the shark-like man asked, writing it down in his notebook, a small smirk of amusement playing in his lips.

"Me," came the answer.

Kisame looked up at Itachi in utter shock.

"I know. I seldom go to the theater," he shrugged casually.

"Seldom?" Kisame questioned, with a raised brow. "How about, 'have you _ever_ been to a theater'?"

"So? I'm not a theater buff," Itachi went on, starting to feel aggravated.

"'Buff'?" Kisame repeated, as the raven threw him a nasty glare. "Well, the most difficult tickets to get would be for a Broadway musical."

"That will do fine," Itachi waved it off.

Kisame stepped forward. "Are you sure about that?" he questioned. He couldn't imagine his boss going to a musical where the actors dance about and burst into song.

"Kisame," Itachi interrupted, changing the subject once more, much to his assistant's confusion. "Forget the thing about the tax advantage." Itachi had a pensive look on his face before he spoke next. "I want that building donated to the town," he said with finality, his finger playing on the edge of his desk. "And I want it used as a halfway house," he added quietly, still not looking at his assistant, who was no doubt staring at him like he was insane. Maybe he was, because he had no idea what had come over him recently.

xcx

Naruto walked out of the photo development shop, carrying the requested photos in her hand. They were finally ready and she remembered that she had promised Itachi that she would bring them to his office. She had called earlier to let him know she'd be coming in, only having spoken to Itachi's assistant, but he told her he'd let Itachi know. She felt a bit nervous as she made her way to the Uchiha Corporation. She still felt confused over what had happened with Sasuke previously, and the swirl of thoughts in her mind made her feel uneasy. She hadn't seen or talked to Sasuke since they had kissed. She shook her head, clearing her thoughts of Sasuke for now until she could sort out some of her feelings. Naruto also felt excited – she wasn't sure if that was the right word – about seeing Itachi again, but really didn't understand why. She didn't fancy him, and he _couldn't_ fancy her, so why did she feel this way?

She shook her head once more as she made her way into the gigantic corporation. She was dressed in business casual – successfully blending in with all the other corporates – as she made her way inside and up to the 48th floor to see Itachi. This was her first time to the corporation and she had never seen such a large and extravagant building before. It fit the Uchihas very well though.

The said raven was in his private bathroom finishing a quick shave, when he heard, "Namikaze Naruto," over the intercom. Nearly cutting himself he grabbed his suit jacket – putting it on – as he went to his door. Straightening his tie, and smoothing his suit, he opened the door.

"Come in," he gestured to the blonde who was standing right by the door. She gave him a wide grin as she stepped inside the raven's office for the first time.

"Hi," she greeted as she handed him the photos as she walked inside.

"Sit down, make yourself comfortable," Itachi told the blonde while she looked around the enormous office. It had a couple of couches, a huge desk, a separate meeting room, private bathroom, and large windows everywhere, exposing the nicest views of Manhattan, making it appear bright and warm, and rather like an apartment than an office.

"Wow," the blonde gushed taking it all in. "It's... uh... big," she finally managed to get out, which would be the understatement of the year.

"This is where I do the real work in the real world," Itachi told her, as he sat down on the couch with the pictures. "Instead of living," he added, as he took out the photos and began to look them over.

Naruto looked away from him and blushed. "Oh. You remembered," she answered contritely as she took a seat opposite to the raven.

"Doesn't come up every day," came the reply. The Uchiha looked up at the blonde. "Would you like some coffee?" he asked.

"No, thank you," the blonde declined politely, anxiously waiting for the raven's opinion on the pictures she had taken, though not really knowing why she cared so much for the older raven's opinion.

"Some of these are very good," Itachi commented, looking at photographs with a critical eye.

"Don't sound so surprised," Naruto replied a bit offended.

"I'm not," the Uchiha stated, looking up at her again, seriously. Turning his gaze back to the pictures, he flipped through one that caught his interest. "This is an unusual view of the house," he said, holding up the picture to show the blonde.

She looked over at it, curiously wondering what the raven was talking about. She recognized it as picture from her stay in Paris. "Oh, well," she said laughing at it. "You said you wanted it to look bigger. Sorry, I don't know..." she looked over and saw some other pictures the raven was looking at and saw more pictures of Paris. "Oh, no, you have—" she trailed off, pulling the correct pictures out of her handbag, and handing them to Itachi, shaking her head at her mistake. "I'm sorry. I gave you the wrong portfolio. Here."

He gave her the other ones. She took them and started walking around, as she looked the pictures over. "You got to admit, it's beautiful," she told Itachi.

The raven looked over at her, pausing in looking over the photos. "I probably would admit it... if you'd let me," he told her mysteriously.

Naruto looked over at him puzzled by his answer. She then turned her attention back to the pictures she held in her hand of Paris and began to flip through them, having nostalgic thoughts about her time spent there.

"I found myself in Paris," Naruto suddenly told the raven. He looked up at her again, finding the statement intriguing. "A friend said that," she explained, when she saw Itachi looking at her, curiously.

"You were missing?" he asked.

"You could say that, yes," she answered, looking back at him.

"I once was lost and now am found," he replied teasingly.

"You're making fun of me," Naruto huffed slightly.

"It's my turn," the Uchiha told her playfully, looking up once more.

Naruto laughed softly, raising a blonde brow and blushing, looking down. She saw the raven looking a picture that he had found of himself. "You're very photogenic," she commented. "I don't know why you don't like having your picture taken."

"Oh, I don't know. I guess it's because it's an image that doesn't show the real you," Itachi replied, vaguely.

Naruto furrowed her brow at this statement. Did this man always talk so mysteriously?

"Are you sure I can't get you anything?" Itachi asked again, standing up and gesturing to his desk. "Café au lait, snails?"

Naruto laughed at all the French dishes the raven was naming off. Itachi smirked as he poured some coffee. "Theater tickets?" he asked, which was completely unrelated.

"Theater tickets?" the blonde repeated, utterly confused, blinking a couple of times to make sure she heard him correctly.

"I thought I'd take my first step towards—all that French stuff. The good life and knowing when to quit." Naruto grinned again, hardly believing what she was hearing. "Maybe it's a bad idea," he added when Naruto still hadn't said anything.

Naruto took a step towards him. "No, it's a good idea."

xcx

Itachi and Naruto found themselves eating at a Moroccan Restaurant, where one sits on the floor at a low table.

"It was my favorite food in France," Naruto was saying to the raven. She hadn't stopped talking since they arrived. There's this little place in Pigal. I ate there at least twice a week."

The waiter came with their food, and Naruto reached over and served them both, placing the food in their bowls. Itachi was looking over the food curiously. He had never eaten Moroccan before.

He was about to start with his utensils, when Naruto said; "It's really so much better if you eat with your hands. Do you mind?" she asked.

"N-no," he answered, taking a handful of the foreign stuff and putting it in his mouth. It was hot. "Not since I made that contribution to the NYU burn unit."

The blonde laughed at this. Itachi could be quite witty at times, much to her amusement and surprise.

"It's good. Very good," he told the blonde, seriously. Taking some more bites, he added, "It's interesting. Have to have it with soup sometime." The blonde laughed even more at that, as she dug eagerly into her own food.

Naruto ended up doing the majority of the talking, not that Itachi particularly minded, since he didn't do tons of talking himself. She told the raven all about her time in Paris, using many gestures as she spoke.

Itachi paid careful attention to every word she spoke, not missing anything. He studied her intently, watching her ruby red lips move with each word. It was captivating. He found himself irresistibly drawn to her bubbling personality that was so opposite his own. She even got him to smile, a real, genuine one, and even chuckle at something she had said. She talked on and on, oblivious to how late it was getting.

"I used to walk everywhere in Paris," the blonde was saying. "I used to walk from Montamartre to the center of town. Along the Seine, there's a four-mile walk that goes from Isle St. Germain to the Pont d'Austerlitz," she went on, touching a rose petal to her face, which had been placed on the table for decoration.

"It takes you past all the bridges of Paris, twenty-three of them. And you find one you love and go there every day with your coffee and your journal and you listen to the river," she finished, still playing absentmindedly with the pink rose petal in her hand.

"What does it tell you?" Itachi asked, curious, finally speaking.

"That's between you and the river," Naruto answered mysteriously.

"It's interesting, listening to you talk makes me—" the raven paused, searching for the right words. "makes me wonder if I should—"

"What?" the blonde interjected, leaning forward slightly in interest, a playful smile on her ruby lips.

"I don't know. Something's different. I feel different," the raven tried to explain. He turned away for a moment and then back again to face the blonde. "At work, I don't—I love the action… but…sometimes….I wonder—lately, especially—"

Naruto frowned as she listened, uncertain what the Uchiha was trying to say to her.

"I've been wondering…what it would be like…to spend some time in a place that I love like you have…and not just for a few days…but for a real change," Itachi continued, as the blonde continued to frown, holding the rose petal just under her lips. "Actually, I think I've been thinking about it for a long time," the Uchiha prodigy went on. "I just—I just didn't know it until…you…"

"What exactly are you saying?" Naruto interrupted brusquely, unable to stop herself.

"I'm not sure," Itachi confessed, still trying to find the right words to convey his feelings to the blonde across from him. "I do what my father did. He did what his dad did." He shook his head. "My whole life, I've been—I never got to choose," he said with some venom in his tone.

"You're not really thinking about Paris, are you?" the blonde interrupted once more, which the Uchiha was becoming more accustomed to at this point.

He gazed at her for a moment before saying, "No, no, you're probably right. How could I be? Am I a lost cause, then?"

Taking the petal from her lips, Naruto answered, "I don't like to think of anyone as a lost cause." They stared across the table at each other, silence passing between them when suddenly the blonde looked at her watch. It had stopped. "Oh, what time is it?" she exclaimed.

Looking at his own watch, Itachi replied, "9:45."

"I forgot. I told Tou-san I'd be home by 8:30 to help him out with something," she explained, hastily.

"Oh, well, I'm sure he'll understand," the raven answered, neutrally.

Naruto's face fell at this, feeling like she had let her father down.

Seeing the expression on the blonde's face, Itachi added, "We can go, then."

"He probably will, but I …" she started to say when the raven interrupted.

"No, come on. Let's walk a little," the Uchiha suggested, getting the attention of the waiter so he could pay the bill.

Once outside, the pair strolled casually down the street, passing by many window shops. "Was there anything you didn't like about Paris?" the raven asked, genuinely curious.

Naruto racked her brain for an answer. It was hard to think of anything really negative. Finally, she came up with something. "How expensive everything is."

"Well, if I ever went there, I'd have to learn how to say, 'I'm just looking,'" Itachi replied, looking at the blonde in such a way to supply him with the French words.

Naruto gave him the phrase in French.

"How do you say, 'This is what I want?'" He asked, enjoying the French lesson.

Again, the blonde supplied him with the correct phrase in French. Itachi stopped walking suddenly as Naruto went on a little further, before realizing the raven had stopped. She turned to face him.

"How do you say, 'I'm looking at what I want?'" Itachi asked, very directly.

Naruto had been smiling the whole time during the French lesson, but when she heard those particular words come out from the older raven's mouth, the way he said it, looking at her so intensely, she understood the underlying meaning to his words. She immediately felt uncomfortable and confused.

"I don't remember," she mumbled quickly, but the raven heard her, and she turned around and continued walking.

xXx

Minato was reading in his room, when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he called.

Anko came in with a tray carrying flowers and the blond's usual tea. She put the flowers down on a nearby end table and the tray next to the blonde. "Thank you," he told her sincerely.

He then got up and looked out the window, a worried expression on his face.

"She can handle herself with him you know," Anko said, noting the look on Minato's face, referring to Itachi. "She's not a child anymore."

"I know…but…" Minato bit his lower lip. "She just…seems so displaced right now. She doesn't belong in the mansion, or above the garage."

"Most people live in-between," Anko told him with a small smile. The blond pondered this as she said, "Drink your tea and get some rest."

xXx

Itachi and Naruto drove back to the mansion in silence. It was tense and awkward to say the least. The blonde felt confused and guilty, while the raven wore an unreadable expression on his face as they made their way back, the drive seeming to take a lot longer than necessary.

When they finally pulled in, the pair saw someone neither of them was expecting to see, especially at this hour. It was the younger Uchiha, Sasuke. When he spotted the car, a slow smile spread across his face. He came over to them, as Naruto got out.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Sasuke," Naruto replied, surprised as she came over to him.

Itachi got out of the car, and watched the pair with narrowed eyes. Naruto was grinning at the younger raven.

"I called Kisame to find out where you were, Aniki. He said you went to the theater?" Sasuke questioned, looking over at his older brother, surprise evident in his tone, with just a touch of jealousy that only Itachi picked up on.

"Just dinner," he clarified.

"Moroccan, on the floor. Lots of cinnamon," Naruto explained. "I had to deliver some pictures to Itachi-san's office that I took for him."

"I see," the younger raven replied, looking back at Naruto and then to his brother. He reached out and took one of Naruto's hands into his own. The two of them looked over at Itachi, who now felt like a third wheel.

"It was really good food. Thank you, Naruto, for the nice night out," the older raven told the blonde courteously, turning to leave.

"You heading back to the city?" Sasuke asked after him.

"No, it's getting kind of late. I think I'll sleep out here," Itachi answered, eyeing the couple once more. Grabbing something out of his car, he added, "Good night."

"Good night, Itachi-san. Thank you," Naruto called after him, feeling a little bad for him. The elder Uchiha nodded and walked away, leaving the pair alone. The blonde stared at his back as he left, a troubled look on her face.

Sasuke tugged on her hand a little, bringing her back to the present. "So…" the blonde turned to face him. "You. I've been thinking about you," he told her in a low, husky voice.

"Have you?" Naruto replied, looking over where Itachi once stood and then back to the younger raven again. "What have you been thinking?"

"I think I told you that I wanted to see you again," Sasuke told her in a slightly possessive tone. "And it hasn't happened yet."

"Ah, I'm sorry, Sasuke. I've been a little…preoccupied lately," Naruto admitted to the younger raven. Not to mention confused.

"You mean with Itachi?" Sasuke asked, pointedly.

Naruto was a bit taken aback by his tone. "Sasuke, it's not what you think," she began.

"I hope not," he cut her off. "He's not your type."

Naruto wondered where in the world this was coming from. She felt confused. This was a side of Sasuke she had never seen before. Was Sasuke really jealous of her spending time with Itachi? Maybe it was a competitive thing among brothers?

"Sasuke, where do you want to go from here?" Naruto decided to ask a direct question of her own. She wanted to know what Sasuke wanted from this relationship, or was he just using her until his fiancée came back?

The younger raven seemed to relax a bit, and his features softened. "Well, I could probably scare us up some champagne, and we could go down to the solarium. Get to know each other better in a more…private setting," he hinted with a seductive wink at her.

Naruto looked down and away from him. "I meant after that," she told him.

"After that?" the raven frowned. Naruto nodded. He turned a deep shade of red. "Well, hell, I don't know. I'm sure we could come up with something," he intoned sexily.

"You really don't know though, do you, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, feeling sad over where this conversation was going.

"Well, not…exactly," the raven admitted. He smirked at the blonde. "Is that so bad?"

"No," the blonde flatly answered, wondering why she felt so disappointed by his answer.

"We can talk about all that later, can't we?" the raven went on, oblivious to Naruto's inner turmoil.

Naruto regarded him sadly, but put a smile in place. "Yes, but tomorrow. It's late and I need to see my father," she told the younger Uchiha.

He looked her over, and smiling, lifted up her hand he was holding, and kissed it gently. Naruto closed her eyes at his touch.

From a distance, a pair of narrowed eyes was watching the couple, glowering at them darkly. The owner had a frown on his face, as he watched the couple together. He continued to glare, as Naruto finally made her way upstairs, both Uchihas watching her, intently.

* * *

**AN:** I forgot to mention in the last chapter that for those of you who don't know, a halfway house is place where people can go after they have been released from prison, usually, where they can get a fresh start. Also, I know you all are reading, I see in it in the stats, but please drop a review. Even if it's just one word. It won't kill you and it's like candy to the author. Thank you.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

* * *

Itachi made his way to his office, with a dark cloud hanging over him. "Good morning, Itachi-san," Kisame greeted when he saw his boss, oblivious to the raven's foul mood. "How was the theater?"

"Come in, Kisame," he told him without preamble.

"That bad, huh?" he grinned, following his boss inside.

The raven walked quickly, with Kisame jogging to keep up. "I want you to get me two tickets on Air France to Paris. One in my name, and one in the name of Namikaze Naruto," he told the shark-looking man, as they both reached his desk. The said man was listening with a frown. "That's it."

"What day are we flying?" he asked.

"Tomorrow," the Uchiha answered shortly, taking things out of his briefcase.

Kisame turned to leave when he remember something. Turning around he said, "Oh, I almost forgot. The Haruno's are here waiting."

Itachi looked up at him, a frown on his face. "Did we have an appointment?"

"It's not in my book," the shark-like man said, with a shake of his head. "They showed up. I put them in Sasuke-san's office."

The raven looked deep in thought. "Is my mother in yet?"

* * *

In Sasuke's office, Mr. Haruno was speaking. Mikoto, Itachi and Sakura's mother were there, the women sitting down, while Itachi stood with his arms folded across his chest.

Mrs. Haruno spoke up. "These are the invitations. We thought we'd used recycled paper," she informed them, as Itachi and Mr. Haruno looked down at her. As she showed Mikoto the invitations, Itachi crossed over to where Mr. Haruno was standing.

"What's the problem, Haruno-san?" Itachi asked, getting straight to the point. He knew something was up.

"Oh, no problem from our point of view," Mr. Haruno explained, walking over to the large window. "I feel like a—what's that word—when a lot of guys are after you?"

"Whore," Itachi supplied harshly. Everyone looked over at him in shock. The raven's eyes were narrowed. Mr. Haruno recovered and chuckled a bit.

"I was thinking more 'debutante,'" he corrected. "Somebody else wants to be in bed with Haruno Electronics," Mr. Haruno went on. Looking pointedly at Itachi, he asked, "You know Intermedia?"

"Aa," the Uchiha answered, his eyes still narrowed.

"Impressive proposal. Cash, stock…and they don't want to tell me how to run the business," Mr. Haruno explained.

"Well, how flattering for you, Haruno-san," Mikoto interjected.

"So how'd you leave it with them?" Itachi wanted to know.

"Well, I told them we're practically family, you and I," he gestured to himself and then Itachi. "And that I couldn't possibly entertain their offer…at this time," he finished with an ominous smirk.

"Good," the raven replied, not convinced this was all.

"However, Sakura came home last night," Mr. Haruno went on, sitting down, while Itachi still stood. "She called Sasuke and we got the impression—"

"You. You got the impression," Mrs. Haruno put in firmly.

He conceded to his wife. "I got the impression," he corrected, "that he wasn't as anxious as he should be… to see her."

"Well, he's been quite busy lately. He's been more involved with company business and such. But I know he wants to see her very soon," Mikoto interjected again.

Both men stared each other down, Itachi glaring slightly, and Haruno not flinching.

"That's what I thought," Mr. Haruno replied with a smile that wasn't believable at all.

* * *

Naruto was in bathrobe, standing by her window, when the phone rang. She anxiously rushed over to answer it. "Hello?"

"_Good morning." _

"Itachi-san," Naruto grinned at his low, sexy sounding voice. Did she just think that about Itachi?

"Listen, I think we've known each other long enough that you can call me Itachi. Itachi-san starting to make me feel old," he told her, as she smiled at this. He went on. "Would you mind another trip into the city?" the raven asked, as he sat at the meeting table in his office, papers here and there, and a cup of coffee in front of him.

"_I've got some business that I'd like to discuss with you, and I thought-" _

"Business?" Naruto repeated, her face faltering a little. _"Yeah."_

"I was wondering if you could meet me here this afternoon," he asked.

"I don't know. There's something I ought to do," she replied uncertainly, thinking about how she needed to talk to Sasuke again.

Itachi leaned forward in his seat, as if talking to Naruto in person. "It would mean a great deal to me if you could," he said, with a very persuasive tone that Naruto found hard to resist.

* * *

A few hours later, Naruto was making her way down the stairs to the waiting cab that would take her into the city. She saw Sasuke's trademark Ferrari sitting there, and she felt a pang of guilt at the sight of it. She should talk to him, she knew, but there was something about Itachi that was drawing her in. When she arrived downtown, instead of going straight to the Uchiha corp, she decided to walk around town for while, somehow being unable to go into the building just yet, and spend some time just wandering the city, unable to shake the feeling she had going on inside.

Finally, after a considerable amount of time had passed, Naruto found herself standing in the lobby, watching on TV an ad for the Uchiha Corporation. She looked uncertainly down the hallway.

Kisame looked up to see a blonde woman standing hesitantly by his desk. "Namikaze-san! Itachi-san was expecting you much earlier," he stated. "I'll let him know that you're here."

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she started to say. "Don't tell him I'm here." She looked…anxious.

"Oh, but he pays me to tell him," he gave her a toothy grin, as he spoke into the intercom. "Namikaze Naruto is here."

Itachi was sitting at his desk when he heard the name he had been waiting for. He stood up just as Naruto opened the door and came inside, closing the door. She noticed that the office was dimly lit.

"I was beginning to worry," the raven started, noticing the apprehensive look on the blonde's face.

"Why?" she asked, some of her nervousness fading slightly at his question.

"That's a favorite question of yours," he replied wryly with a smirk, as he made his way around the desk towards her. "Didn't you want to come?"

Naruto started to make her way forward as Itachi had come around and stopped at the end of his desk. She seemed flustered now. "I-I…um…I asked you first," she answered, stopping in her tracks.

"I asked you second," came the clever reply.

Naruto looked everywhere but Itachi's face as she spoke. "I've been—wandering around Manhattan all afternoon," the raven frowned at this. "It's something to do…with maybe…" she kept fidgeting as she spoke. "-never seeing you again…but that's ridiculous, because we don't-um-we don't have to—" she gestured with her hands towards him and then herself. "Well, except by accident, and—uh—how could that be a problem?" she stumbled over her words. The blonde was now breathing rapidly and was more flustered than ever. Looking up at Itachi, she went on. "Um…if two people—" taking another step towards the raven, she spoke again. "—I asked you first." She wore a frightful expression on her face, fearing what the man must think of her now, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm herself.

"Well…what you said—whatever it is—" the raven started as he moved towards the blonde a few more steps. "—makes what I was going to say…obsolete, I think."

Taking yet another step forward, the blonde repeated, "Obsolete?" she was still breathing hard.

"Irrelevant," he clarified, taking another step forward as well.

Naruto took two more steps. "Okay. I like irrelevant."

Itachi moved closer to the blonde, closing the gap between them a bit more. "Do you?" he asked in low voice.

Boldly, the blonde completely closed the gap, now standing close enough to the raven, that she could touch him. Now that she was this close to him, the blonde noted the strong, handsome face of Itachi. She noted the distinguished lines that ran along the sides of his nose, which was very square. His jaw looked sharp and strong. Then she looked at his long, coal black hair that was tied loosely behind his neck.

"Why do you always have your hair tied back?" she asked, completely off subject.

Itachi reached back and ran his hand loosely over his pony-tail. "I always have. Otherwise, it gets in my face," he replied logically.

Tentatively, Naruto reached up and brushed back the raven's long fringe that framed the sides of his face, her hand finally coming to rest on his cheek. As she did so, he reached up and placed his hand on her wrist. Her hand came down slowly and entwined itself in his.

"So, what's irrelevant?" she asked, getting back on topic, feeling her heart thumping in her chest.

Looking at her eyes intently he said in the same low voice, "I want you to come to Paris."

Naruto gave him a lopsided look. "You mean _go_ to Paris," she corrected.

"No, I want you to _come_ to Paris…with me," the raven told her, gently rubbing her hand that was still in his.

She looked at him in surprised amazement. "You're really going?"

"It's your fault," he teased. "You convinced me that there were some thing missing in my life." She leaned in a little closer to him.

"Like what?"

"Like a life," Itachi breathed.

"I didn't think you were listening," she told him honestly.

"I was," he told her sincerely, continuing to rub her hand. "Will you come? Don't say no. Will you?" It was more of a demand.

"I just got back," Naruto protested weakly.

"So? Say 'yes' now," he purred, with much persuasion in his voice. "We can leave tomorrow."

"T-tomorrow?" she gasped in surprise. "I—I have to talk to Sasuke—"

"Just come away," the raven used the demanding tone again. Naruto looked at him oddly at the tone. "He'll get the idea in a week or two."

Looking at him scrupulously, Naruto said, "You are formidable, aren't you? In business dealings—"

He cut her off. "This isn't business."

"Did you once say that everything is business?"

"No, but it sounds like me," he answered agreeably. She smiled slightly at that. "What will you tell him?"

Naruto was at a loss for words. She didn't know how to answer him. And he was so close to her, she could smell him; it was of mint, pine and cologne.

Moving towards the blonde, Itachi leaned in, cupping the side of her face, and kissed her. It was hesitant at first, their lips unmoving, but soon, the raven moved his lips against the blonde's coaxing her to do the same, which she did within seconds. The kiss soon deepened, as the blonde's arms snaked around the raven's neck, tightly, while he wound his arms around the blonde's back in a tight embrace. As they continued to kiss, both grips tightened on each other longingly. A knock on the door startled them, and as it opened, the blonde jerked back quickly, as Itachi showed clear annoyance on his face, letting her go, reluctantly, as Kisame came in.

"I did knock," he grinned at them, not missing Itachi's 'Uchiha' death glare. Naruto looked embarrassed. "Here are the tickets," he said, laying them on Itachi's desk. "And the other things are being taken care of," he added and headed out quickly, but before telling them 'goodnight' with a smirk, before closing the door again.

Naruto stared at the tickets in disbelief, not really sure if she was dreaming or not. She took slow steps to the desk and opened up the flap of both tickets to see her and Itachi's name. She closed them and grinned widely. It wasn't a dream.

"You want dinner?" Itachi asked, quietly, coming up behind her.

The blonde shook her head. "No," she answered.

"I could order in," he said in a low voice again, trying to gauge her.

"No," she answered turning around and throwing her arms around the raven, hugging him tightly, as he did the same. She began to shower him with kisses all over his face. "I don't understand what happened," the blonde began, overflowing with joy. "I hardly know you—"

"Oh, yes you do," Itachi countered mildly.

Naruto ran her hands down his chest. "I wasn't even interested," she continued.

"Thanks," the raven said, mock hurt.

She hugged him again, laughing at his statement. "I was interested in Sasuke," she confessed, pulling back, but still touching the raven. "I-I mean, he was so much what I wanted that had to escape…and I did to Paris…and I wrote in my stupid journal and I cut my stupid hair…and I came back stupider than ever!"

She hugged him again, as the raven started to feeling uncomfortable with all of this. She pulled back, laughing, touching his face, and then hugging him again. "Oh, Itachi, I'm so happy! You've made me so happy!" she exclaimed, hugging him like a lifeline.

At this point, Itachi gently pried the blonde off of him. He wore an unreadable expression on his face.

"Itachi?" she asked, concerned.

He shook his head and walked away from her, turning his back. Shaking his head once more, he turned back to face the blonde who was looking confusingly at him. "I can't do this," he started.

"What is it?" the blonde asked.

"You were right," the raven confessed slowly.

"About what?"

"About everything. Everything that mattered," he answered, a very serious expression on his face. "It was all a lie—everything I said to you from the moment I brought the champagne into the solarium," he looked away from her.

Naruto shook her head in disbelief. "I don't believe you," she said.

"I was sent to deal with you," he went on. "I sent myself. And…I did one heck of a job."

The blonde started taking deep breaths again, but this time for a different reason.

"There was a marriage. There was a merger. You got in the way," the raven explained flatly. "The plan was to take you to Paris…then leave…to get you out of way," he said the last part very softly.

Naruto felt tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing!

Itachi saw the crushed look on the girl's face and felt very uncomfortable, so he turned away, not being able to bear the look on her face. He walked over to the bathroom, as Naruto turned away also, still in total shock. She sat down, everything was moving in slow motion. As she heard water running, she tried to fight back tears that started to fall. She desperately tried not to let them fall, least Itachi see them.

Itachi came back into the room. "Naruto, I think there's no other—"

"What other things are being taken care of?" the blonde cut him off.

"What?"

"He said, 'other things.'"

The raven started walking towards his desk. "An apartment for you in Paris…and a bank account." He stopped just behind the blonde.

"How much?" she asked.

"$500,000 francs," was the reply.

Naruto smiled a bit at that. "You're first offer was better," she told him acerbically.

"You can have more," Itachi told her, studying her reaction.

"I don't want _more._ I don't want _any."_ Her voice broke at the end. She stood up, wiping her eyes and turned to face him. "You went to all that trouble, just for me?" she asked with a sad smile. "The helicopter and the jet—"

"It was no trouble," the raven interrupted.

The blonde asked the next question she had to know the answer to. "Was I really so bad for Sasuke, so wrong? The chauffeur's daughter. Isn't that all over?"

"That's not it," Itachi answered, emotionless. "It's about a piece of plastic."

"Plastic?" the blonde repeated incredulously.

"Nothing personal," the raven added.

She cocked her head to the side at this and gave him a look that said, 'are you kidding? Of course it's personal!' Naruto turned away in disgust, and her eye caught the tickets.

"May I?" she asked respectfully. The Uchiha just nodded. She took the ticket in her name and then reaching over and grabbing her hand bag, starting walking towards the door. "Paris is always a good idea," she said, turning to face the Uchiha one last time, trying to put her sadness down. I was always happy there," she smiled. "You would have been too," she whispered.

Itachi looked at her with what might have been sadness…regret…? She couldn't tell. Giving him one last, sad smile, she turned back and reached the door.

"I'll drive you home," the raven offered.

Naruto turned back to him and holding up her ticket replied, "I'm flying home." And with that, she was gone.

* * *

**AN: **Okay, don't kill me! This is called a twist! But rest assured if you keep reading, you'll like what happens. There has to be some drama and angst in a good story. Please review, it makes the world go round for us authors! One word will do! Thank you! Also, I don't have a beta anymore since chapter 5 or 6, can't remember, so if there are glaring mistakes, please do tell!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

* * *

Now, that he was alone, the Uchiha prepared himself a strong drink and sat down at his desk. He tried to focus on his work, but found that he was unable to concentrate. He thought back to the conversation he had with his mother just hours before Naruto had come to his office.

_Mikoto had come to see Itachi after the Haruno's had left. "That little leprechaun was making a veiled threat," she stated plainly._

"_There was no veil," he answered, with a touch of anger, throwing his schedule book on his desk, loudly._

"_Should we do something?" she asked._

"_It's under control," the raven assured his mother. "I'm going to Paris tomorrow," he informed her, as opened her mouth in surprise._

"_What?" she gasped, coming over to him._

"_It's a long story," he dismissed with a wave of his hand._

"_I like long stories," Mikoto told him._

"_You won't like this one," Itachi warned her as he sat down at his desk._

"_Try me," she told him as she walked over to stand in front of her son's desk._

_The Uchiha heir regarded his mother for a minute before deciding to answer. "Things have been progressing with Naruto," he started. "We've…bonded," he went on, swinging slowly back and forth in his chair. Mikoto looked interested. Itachi turned his chair to the right, to avoid looking at her. "We've been confiding in each other. Last night…over a handful of chicken, I told her that my life was in need of some radical changes." He paused here then went on. "I told her I was thinking about getting away…moving to Paris," he said finally looking at his mother. "She thought that was a great idea." He turned away again._

"_And, she believed you?" Mikoto asked._

"_More than that. I think she'll want to go with me," he replied, still not looking at her._

"_How do you know?" she asked her oldest son._

_Looking back at her, he answered, "The same way I knew fiber-optics would replace coaxial cable…" he told her as he swung his chair back around to face her. He folded his hands on his desk, leaning forward. "I just know." _

_Mikoto could only stare at him. Itachi looked away again. Time for the bad part._

"_So here's the way it will play out. Naruto will go to Paris with me. A wiser Sasuke will return to Sakura. I'll come back from Paris to sign the papers. The merger will close," the raven told his mother with finality, finally looking at her again. Turning around in his desk again, he said, "You'll make a very large sum of money…you can buy a house in Tuscany," he told her dryly._

"_I have a house in Tuscany," she stated. "What happens to Naruto?"_

"_She grows up," came the curt reply._

_Mikoto looked shocked at this. "You're going to ditch her?" She suddenly sat down in a chair by the desk. "My goodness!" she exclaimed._

_Itachi looked up from a paper he was writing on. "How did you think this was going to happen, Kaa-san? Did you honestly think there was some nice way… some…sweet way to do this?" He asked with biting sarcasm._

"_I don't know what I thought," she snapped back. "I just don't want Naruto to be—"_

"_What? Unhappy?" the raven supplied. He shook his head. "In all these years, you've never once seen the face of somebody…the day after we've taken over their business. You're at the beauty parlor, or celebrating."_

_Mikoto looked sad. "I think I'm getting old. I feel terrible…"_

_Itachi looked up at her. "You and Tousan taught me everything I know."_

"_We didn't teach you this," she corrected him. She got up and headed out. "Excuse me, I have some phone calls to return." She closed the door with a click._

Itachi thought about Naruto. He couldn't get the look of utter betrayal she had on her face when he told her the 'truth.' Why did he suddenly feel like…a weasel? He had done business deals taking over someone's business and the like…but he couldn't shake the guilty feeling he had…or the regret. He felt confused. Taking his drink in hand, Itachi turned around in his chair, to stare out the window.

Naruto was riding on the public train back to the mansion. She was forlornly watching the rain fall and hit the window, as it reflected her mood perfectly. She didn't understand what had just happened between her and Itachi. She had…fallen in love with him, and she thought for sure he had felt the same way about her. Tears threatened to spill out of the blonde's eyes, as she hastily wiped them away. How could she have been so foolish…so blind? What was she going to tell her father? Naruto bit her bottom lip. She knew one thing; there was someone that she had to see before she left…

* * *

Back at the mansion, Sasuke was playing a game of pool in the game room, when he heard a car door shut. He had a glass of champagne, along with the bottle on the table. He frowned as he moved to the other side of the table to take a shot.

Naruto walked in, as she saw the light coming from the room and then she saw Sasuke was there, and the door was open.

"Hi," he greeted, not looking at her and taking his shot.

"Hi," she answered softly.

He made his made over to the other side of the table, now facing her. "Where you coming from?"

"Town," Naruto answered simply.

Sasuke nodded and made his way towards his drink. "Long evening. I thought we were going to talk," he accused, sounding hurt. He took a sip. "Spend some time together. I was planning for us to go down to—"

"I was with your brother," the blonde cut him off. The raven's face darkened slightly at this. He took another sip of his drink. "You know, of all the girls I've known—and I've know some." He titled his head. "Isn't that a song?" Naruto just smiled. "You're the only one I've ever danced with only once."

"Twice," the blonde corrected him.

Sasuke frowned, trying to remember. "What? How could I have forgotten? Was there champagne?"

"I was eight and you were talking dancing lessons. I was homework," Naruto explained.

"Hn," the young Uchiha smirked at her and held up his glass in an invitation for her to join him.

The blonde struggled over her next words. "I'm leaving town, Sasuke," she informed him. He lowered his glass.

"I think I knew that," he replied evenly.

"I won a ticket to Paris," Naruto went on, with a fake smile on her face.

"Lucky," Sasuke droned. He looked concerned. "One way?"

"Yes, come to think of it," she answered sadly, tears, pricking her eyes again.

The raven looked down for a minute before speaking. "Traveling alone?" He met her gaze once more.

The blonde nodded, her voice breaking, "Yes," she whispered, tears in her eyes.

Sasuke raised his glass in salute, making the blonde smile. "Well, you have a good trip," he told her sincerely.

* * *

Kisame made his way into the Uchiha Corp. much like he did every single day. When he got to the 48th floor, he was surprised to see a light on and the door open to Itachi's office. Frowning, he walked inside and looked around. The raven came out of the bathroom, his tie undone and hanging loosely around his neck.

"You're here," he stated to his assistant.

"So are you," Kisame replied, not hiding the surprise in his voice.

"I want you to call Seattle and Tokyo and stop construction," the raven began without any formalities, getting straight to business. "Then get the Haruno's and them tell them there's an emergency meeting on the merger here at noon." He walked over to his desk and picked up the remaining plane ticket and gave it to Kisame. "Take this Paris ticket in my name and transfer it to Uchiha Sasuke." Kisame's mouth dropped open, making him like much more like a shark. "I need to see my mother—"

"Nii-san!" a voice called loudly with a hint of anger to it. Both men turned to the sound and saw Sasuke approaching.

"I need to see my mother as soon as she gets in," Itachi finished. The shark-like man frowned, but headed towards the door, when Sasuke came in.

"Good morning, Sasuke-san. Can I get you some coffee?" Kisame asked politely. The younger raven didn't answer. He was staring his brother down with cold, hard eyes. "No? Okay," he said, closing the door quickly with a click.

Itachi came forward a few steps towards his brother. "I have a surprise for you, otouto," he started, with a slight smirk on his face.

"Yeah?" Sasuke asked with sarcasm clear in his voice. "I've got one for you, too, nii-san." He moved forward and clenching his fist, he reached back and struck the older raven, before he even knew what hit him. The blow sent him staggering backwards. He looked up at his younger brother in surprise. He felt blooding tricking down his mouth.

"I've watched you do business for years!" the younger raven raged, pointing an accusing finger at Itachi. "But I thought you had a limit as to how sick you could—" The older raven put a towel on his lip to stop the bleeding. "How could you, nii-san? How could you do what you did to me and to her?" he asked angrily. "How could you go that far? What the hell makes you think you have the right?" he demanded.

Itachi wiped the blood off his face and turned to Sasuke to answer, his face dark. "Habit," he answered simply, as Sasuke frowned. "Listen, Sasuke. I tried something and it didn't work. I mean it worked, but it didn't really work," he explained, as the younger raven now looked confused. "I want you to go to Paris today…" the younger raven's confusion grew. "…with Naruto," the older raven finished.

"What?" the younger Uchiha asked, stupidly.

"This whole thing was a business tactic. But it got out of hand," the elder Uchiha went on. "Somehow, I lost my focus," he continued as he walked back towards his desk. "I screwed up everything…but I know it can be fixed. I manipulated her…I confused her…but she's loved you all her life," he said this last part quietly, with bitterness evident in his voice. "You're what she really wants." Sasuke could only stare at his brother, his brows furrowed together in a frown. "You're what she's always wanted. Go with her. It's not too late," he urged his younger brother almost pleadingly. "Things will work out. She'll make you happy, otouto." The older raven turned his head away for a minute, before turning back to his brother and pinned him with a hard look. "I don't want her to have to leave here alone."

"What about the Haruno's and the merger?" Sasuke finally managed to ask. He couldn't believe what he was hearing! Itachi looked away from his younger brother and sat down at his desk, wearily. He couldn't look Sasuke in the eye.

The younger raven moved forward a couple more steps towards his brother, a look of pure disbelief on his face, mixed with confusion. "You'd blow a billion dollars for this?" Itachi merely stared to the side at something that the younger raven couldn't see, and did not answer. "I see," Sasuke said when his brother didn't reply.

The eldest Uchiha finally turned to look at the younger. "Get going. Go on," he nodded towards the door. "You'll miss the plane."

The younger Uchiha turned and left, without a word and a frown still in place. When he got outside the office, he stopped at Kisame's desk. "I need to see you in my office right away," he said in a low tone.

* * *

Naruto was in her room, sadly packing away all her things she could manage to take with her. Minato was there also, talking to her, comforting her. "When your mother and I first came here…she cooked, I drove and we had no expenses. After a couple of years, we had $15,000. I was driving the late Uchiha-san at the time. He never closed the window between us. He transacted a lot of business on the daily commute…I paid attention. When he bought, I bought, when he sold, I sold."

The blonde smiled as she listened to her father talk. "Tou-san, are you telling me that you have a million dollars?" she teased him.

"No. A little over two million," he corrected. Naruto jerked her head up at him in shock. Minato smiled at her. "Your mother and I were happy here, Naruto. We always dreamed of what it would be like to do this for you." The younger blonde just looked at her father still in a state of shock. "Two million dollars might have exceeded our expectations," he paused before going on. "But then…you've always exceeded mine."

Feeling her eyes fill up with tears again, Naruto closed the distance between them, and threw her arms around her father, hugging him for all she was worth. "I love you, Tou-san," she whispered as he hugged her back.

The blonde finally made her way outside where a cab was waiting to take her to the airport. All the staff had gathered to say goodbye, as Minato stood by watching, feeling helpless and grieved for his daughter.

* * *

"I know what his instructions were," Sasuke spoke tersely into the phone, sitting at his desk, at Uchiha Corp. "But it's a mistake. I'm giving you new instructions. There's been a change." Just then, his door opened to reveal his fiancée, Sakura. She stood in the doorway; hand on one hip, with a look of annoyed expectation on her face. The raven looked over at her. "Just get started. I'll call you back," he said in a low tone, as he then hung up. "Thanks for getting her so quickly," the Uchiha started as he got up from his desk. Sakura only quirked a brow at him. "I need to tell you a story," he went on carefully. "And I need for you to tell me how it's going to turn out."

* * *

In Itachi's office, the said raven was standing by his large window, looking out at the city. He knew that Naruto's plane was leaving right now. He lowered his head. Why did he feel so guilty and sad at the same time? He really was questioning himself and wondering if he had done the right thing…

* * *

Mikoto Uchiha finally got off the elevator with a ding, followed closely by Kisame, who was carrying a black bag. The Haruno's were waiting impatiently in the foyer. They jumped up at her approach.

"Emergency what? What's the emergency?" Mr. Haruno demanded.

"Haruno-san, believe me, if I knew…" she trailed off as they all made their way over to Itachi's office. "I'm sure there's a perfectly good answer to that question."

Kisame placed the black bag out of view as they came into the older Uchiha's office. The said raven was sitting at his desk, thoughtful looking as they came in.

"What the hell is going on?" Haruno demanded of Itachi.

"In a minute, Haruno-san," the raven replied, coolly.

"What are we waiting for?" Haruno went on impatiently.

Kisame finally came in, nodded at the Uchiha, and closed the door.

Itachi stood up and walked around to be in front of his desk, his hands behind his back. "Okay. We've known each other for a long time," he addressed Mr. Haruno. "We may have played hardball on occasion but…I think we have a healthy respect for our individual business abilities." Haruno nodded in agreement at this. The raven went on. "We saw the potential of this merger, and I don't think anybody doubts…it would have been an enormously successful venture."

Mr. Haruno looked confused. "Would have been?" he repeated. Mikoto looked worriedly at the two men.

"The purpose of the this meeting is to inform you that my brother, Sasuke—" the said younger raven came through the door that very minute along with Sakura, who was looking much happier.

"—Is late as usual. Sorry," Sasuke apologized to the group. Mikoto closed her eyes in relief, as Itachi now looked confused. "Sorry everybody," the younger raven said again.

"What are you doing here?" Itachi demanded.

"Sakura and I have decided to elope," the younger raven announced.

"Otouto, where's Naruto?" The older raven continued ominously, a dark look on his face.

Sasuke ignored him. "So are we merging?" he asked Mr. Haruno.

"Who's Naruto?" Mrs. Haruno asked as her daughter sat between her and Mikoto.

"You didn't go with her?" Itachi asked incredulous.

"Obviously not, Aniki. Here I am, right?" Sasuke retorted smartly, strutting over to his older brother. "She's probably having her beverage service right about now."

"Who is?" Mrs. Haruno asked again.

"Naruto," Mikoto supplied.

"Who's Naruto?" The pinkette's mother asked again.

"The chauffeur's daughter," Mr. Haruno told his wife with disdain.

"_Don't call her that_," Itachi said in a dangerous voice, while pointing at Mr. Haruno.

Sasuke looked over at his brother, knowingly.

"She was after Sasuke-kun for a while," Sakura explained. "Then she apparently switched to Itachi. She seems to have decided that he was the one with the power."

"Is that what _he,_" indicating to Sasuke, "told you?" The older raven accused.

"He told me everything, Itachi," Sakura answered with a smirk.

Turning back to Sasuke, Itachi demanded, "And you didn't see her before she left? You didn't talk to her?"

"Sure. I said 'good-bye'. I think I wished her luck, maybe not," the younger raven answered, frowning trying to remember. "I told her I felt funny accepting my brother's hand-me-downs…and I said don't take it personally…" Itachi was glaring daggers at Sasuke at this point. "And I told her that you've always been generous to your women in the past. And I was sure she'd be more than compensated for… _whatever_," he finished impertinently.

The older Uchiha lost it. He slugged his brother hard across the face, sending him flying backwards into a chair, making everyone gasp audibly in the room.

Sasuke grinned and turned around and pointed at Itachi. "See, I told you! He loves her."

"Who?"

"Naruto," Mr. Haruno put in.

Looking over at Kisame, Sasuke asked. "Is he packed?

"Yes," he answered.

"Is who packed?" Itachi demanded irately.

"You are. Just one bag," Kisame replied with a grin.

"Wait a minute. You packed my clothes? You went to my apartment?" the older raven asked hotly.

"I took her," Mikoto said calmly.

"Here, sign this," the younger raven shoved some papers into Itachi's hands. "It's your authorization for the completion of this merger," he explained. "And this. Gives me the raise I deserve for the new position I'm assuming."

Itachi stood there, shocked and speechless, looking around at everyone. His younger brother had cooked this all up?

"There's a car waiting for you and a helicopter at east 60th," the younger Uchiha went on, as the older threw an askance glance at his mother, who nodded at him. "The plane ticket's been changed to the Concorde. It leaves in exactly 39 minutes. You might just beat her there," Sasuke told his brother, after looking at his watch.

The eldest Uchiha still stood there in shock and disbelief. "Go, Itachi, don't think," Sakura told him.

Itachi put the papers down on his desk. "She must absolutely hate me," he finally spoke.

"She'll get over it. We all do," the Uchiha's mother put in, as Itachi looked over at her.

"This is crazy," the older Uchiha went on. "You expect me to just drop everything and walk out of here?"

Sasuke looked at his watch. "Running would be better."

"I think you're all nuts," Haruno said.

"Itachi, you know I love you," Mikoto told her oldest son. "No mother could be prouder. But…I think it's time you ran away from home," she told him with a smile.

The older raven only stared at her. Sasuke jumped up with a pen. "But sign these first," he said, handing his brother the pen. The two Uchiha brothers stared at each other for a moment. Something passed between them. Some kind of mutual understanding. He signed the papers, as Mikoto beamed at him. When he was done, he put his arm on Sasuke's shoulder, clasping it tightly to show his appreciation.

Kisame held up the bag, indicating the older Uchiha should leave. He walked towards his assistant, stopping by his mother, taking her hand; he turned and faced the other occupants in the room.

"If you'll excuse me…" Itachi started, using his polite business tone, "It seems I have a previous…engagement." Then, turning around to face his assistant, Kisame handed him the ticket and his bag, and followed him out the door.

Once he was gone, Sasuke took charge. "Now, Haruno-san, the debt burden this merger will accumulate…is going to make it essential to restructure a couple of divisions…" he started explaining, passing out some papers as he did so. "…that are generating cash drains. I've done a very quick review of last quarter's performance…of each division of both companies."

"Sasuke, when did you ever?" Mikoto started to ask, genuinely surprised by her youngest son.

"Kaa-san. You've copied me on the company's financial statement for seventeen years. You just assumed I never read them," the younger Uchiha answered smartly.

* * *

**AN: **Well, how was that? Like/dislike? Let me know in a review please! This story is winding down, one more chapter to be exact. What will Naruto's reaction be? You'll have to read to find out! Thank you for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10-Epilogue

* * *

Stuck in the worst traffic jam ever, Minato was driving the older Uchiha to the helicopter meeting point. He kept giving the Uchiha the evil eye through the rear view mirror. Itachi noticed it and finally decided to say something.

"Go ahead and say it," he told the blond.

"You…don't…deserve her," Minato said quietly, accusingly.

"I don't," Itachi admitted. "I know that. But I need her, or I don't need anything."

Minato suddenly made a bold move to switch lanes, cutting off a cab that angrily honked at him. "Time to run for it," he told the raven, as he undid his seat belt.

They got out of the car and Itachi looked at Minato imploringly. "I just want to make her happy," he told the blond with as much sincerity as he could muster.

The said blond regarded Itachi appraisingly. "13 Rue des Beaux Arts," he finally told the raven.

Itachi nodded his thanks and set off running towards the waiting helicopter, as Minato watched him go.

* * *

The raven just made it time, as the plane was making its final boarding call. He was breathless when he reached the boarding area, handing the woman at the gate his ticket.

"First time on the Concorde, Uchiha-san?" she asked him.

"Yes," he answered, still trying to catch his breath, as he undid his tie and top button on his shirt.

"But not your first time in Paris," she went on, eyeing him appraisingly.

"It's my first everything," he answered shortly.

* * *

That evening, a cab pulled up to where Naruto's apartment was. The blonde got her bags out and after paying the driver, she thanked him for the ride. As she bent down to pick up her bags, she noticed someone standing in the shadows…someone she did not expect to see. In fact, it was the last person she thought she'd ever see. She did a double take to be sure it was really who she thought it was.

Itachi emerged from the shadows, when he saw the blonde. "'Paris is always a good idea,'" you said." Naruto was in too much shock to answer him. "You said I'd be happy here. You couldn't have meant without you." He tried to gauge the blonde's reaction, hoping she wouldn't reject him outright. She put down her bags again.

"How did you know where to find me?" she finally got out, still in disbelief.

"Your father. I told him I need you. I told him I'd make you happy. I promised him," he told the blonde earnestly.

Naruto wore a frown on her face. "I thought…it was all a lie."

Itachi walked a few steps forward. "So did I," he admitted honestly, staring at her blue eyes that held confusion in them. "But something happened. It was a lie…and then it was a dream."

"I—I don't know how to believe you," the blonde started, eyeing him with apprehension. "How can I ever—"

"Because you know me…better than anyone else," the raven cut her off adamantly. "I think you know I love you…" Naruto just continued to stare; fear and disbelief in her eyes, and yet filled with hope that what he was telling her was true. He moved a little closer to her. "And you promised…if there was anything you could ever do—"

_Once a upon a time on the north shore of Long Island…not far from New York…there was a very, very large mansion…almost a castle…_

"I've been following in footsteps all my life," Itachi told the blonde, moving very close to her now. "Save me, Namikaze Naruto. You're the only one who can," he confessed, staring at her with his intense coal-black eyes that were so deep that she could easily get lost in them.

…_And on this very large estate, there lived a small girl…_

Naruto closed the gap between them slowly, tentatively, as if this wasn't really happening.

…_and life was pleasant there…_

She threw her arms around the taller raven, and hugged him, tightly, relieved, as he returned it.

…_and very, very simple. But one day…the girl grew up…_

They pulled back, staring at each other once more. Then Naruto boldly kissed the raven, and he responded passionately, and possessively…

…_and went beyond the walls of the grounds…_

Soon they were engaged in the most passionate kiss either of them had ever experienced, as their bodies pressed close together, wrapping their hands tightly around each other, with longing and desire. Their lips moving fast and unrelenting; hot, almost unbearable. Until finally slowing their maddening pace, as their lips now barely touching would reach out and steal another kiss. Be it quick and soft or long and rapturous. Naruto smiled. Itachi smiled back; a real genuine smile.

_…and found the world._

* * *

The pair now stood by the river Seine, kissing passionately once more; enjoying the other's taste and feel, their bodies pressed closed together, the blonde's arms around the raven's neck, and his arms around her lower back. Finally breaking apart for air, Naruto pulled back, licking her lips in delight, as she then smiled lovingly at Itachi, who leaned down close to her ear and whispered one word: "Mine."

Naruto could feel the possessiveness and passionate desire radiating off the older Uchiha and she welcomed it. They turned in each other's arms to stare out at the river, and beyond that, the city of Paris, the Eiffel Tower clearly seen the background, as they held each other close, never wanting to let go.

**END**

* * *

**AN:** Yep, that's it! Not very long I know. Sorry if you don't like the ending, but it's how it ends in the real movie. I'm not good at drawing things out and making it angsty. If you're curious and you like love stories (with Harrison Ford) watch Sabrina (not the old version with Audrey Hepburn, although you could watch that too.) You can imagine the rest of the story! Thank you to everyone who read, favorited, and followed this little tale. I enjoyed writing it. Drop a review please!


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